Photo provided by the Parkersburg Fire Department A house at 1016 Williams St., Parkersburg, erupted in flames early Thursday morning. Two neighboring houses were damaged. The cause remains under investigation.

PARKERSBURG — A condemned but still occupied house caught fire early Thursday morning, spreading to a neighboring home and damaging another.

The blaze at 1016 Williams St. was reported at 3:27 a.m., but Parkersburg Fire Chief Jason Matthews said it had definitely “been burning for quite some time at that point.”

Firefighters arrived on the scene at 3:30 a.m. and found the two-story house fully involved. Flames had spread to 1006 Williams St. next door, and the siding on 1018 Williams St. was being melted by the heat.

Matthews said the department set up a ladder truck to rain water on the house from behind, while firefighters sprayed it with hoses in the front yard. It took about half an hour to get the fire under control, at which point crews were able to go in to look for any occupants.

“We did an extensive search and didn’t find anybody inside,” Matthews said.

Photo by Evan Bevins Parkersburg firefighter Mark Byrd walks through the remains of a house at 1017 Williams St. Thursday morning, searching for hot spots or signs of any occupants.

According to neighbors, he said, there were frequently people in the structure, which was deemed uninhabitable by city code officials last fall and more recently condemned.

“Even though it was condemned … it was definitely occupied,” Matthews said.

The cause of the fire is unknown. The fire department is working with Parkersburg Police detectives to locate and interview people who were staying at the house, Matthews said. That does not mean the fire was intentionally set, but investigators are not ruling anything out at this point.

“We want to look at all aspects of it,” Matthews said.

The electricity was shut off at the house, but the chief said kerosene heaters were found inside.

Photo by Evan Bevins Houses at, from left, 1018, 1016 and 1006 Williams St. were damaged by an early Thursday morning fire. Already condemned, 1016 Williams St. was demolished later in the morning.

City Code Director Bob McClung said the house was condemned about two months ago because it was “structurally unsafe.” The roof was caving in and a portion of the rear of the building had rotted out and fallen, he said.

Due to the extensive damage, the house was torn down Thursday.

Matthews said 1006 Williams St. sustained “extensive damage in the attic and the roof trusses.” That house is also vacant.

The other neighboring structure, 1018 Williams St., was occupied and residents were able to stay there because there was no damage inside the home, Matthews said.

Photo by Evan Bevins The house at 1016 Williams St., Parkersburg, is shown after fire tore through it Thursday morning. Already condemned by the city, the structure was demolished Thursday.