RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) -- Police say they are still investigating two suspicious fires that gutted a house and destroyed a parked car less than 60 feet away.
Firefighters were called to 15 Cramton Ave. at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, where they found the porch of the house engulfed in flames, 56 feet away from a car that was burning in front of the single-story home.
Eight people, including four children, were sleeping in the house when the fire started, but they escaped by climbing out a bedroom window. Mandy Desautels, 27, who was renting the house, cut herself while smashing out the window and was taken to Rutland Regional Medical Center, where she was treated and released.
A Rutland police detective and a Vermont State Police fire investigator sifted through the charred remains Wednesday, looking for clues to what started the fires. By the end of the day, they couldn't say what started it, but city Detective Chris Kiefer-Cioffi said the fires weren't accidental.
``It's definitely suspicious and I know it was not an accident,'' she said. ``I'm not saying it isn't an arson, but I can't say it is yet since we're still investigating it.''
While interviewing several neighbors on the street, Kiefer-Cioffi said she heard stories about people paying quick visits to the house at all hours of the day.
She said police have also been called to the home five times in the past.
``There was a lot of, according to the neighbors, five-minute traffic, which is symptomatic of the narcotics trade,'' the detective said. ``The narcotics team has been apprised. We'll have to wait until the evidence comes back from the lab before pursuing any complaints.''
Kiefer-Cioffi wouldn't say if drugs or paraphernalia were found in the house. She did say she has already identified suspects in the fire.
