Greg Comer's father had 15 rental properties. As of Friday morning, he had one fewer.
The Charleston Fire Department received a call at about 7 a.m. when a house fire erupted in the bathroom of an unoccupied home at 505 Patrick St., Charleston Fire Lt. W.A. Smith said. The house had locked doors and no utilities, meaning someone must have started the fire, Smith said. It's unclear whether it happened by accident.
"I can't prove it was some beggar trying to keep warm and it got away from them. I can't prove somebody went in and poured something in there," he said.
Authorities unblocked the street at about 8:30 a.m., the time Comer had originally planned to continue renovations. The fire destroyed insulation installed the day before, Comer said, and it ruined plans to install new cabinets and flooring.
Comer said his 87-year-old father, Andrew, has lost two homes to methamphetamine labs and another six to house fires in the last two decades.
He said a tenant last occupied the Patrick Street home three months ago, and he was confident someone would rent it in the next two weeks. It will now be torn down.
"It will cost more to fix it than we would get in years of rent," Comer said.
Reach Giuseppe Sabella at giuseppe.sabella@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or @gsabella on Twitter.