The interior of 1333 Lynn St., Parkersburg, is shown after a fire Thursday. The house was razed by emergency demolition later in the day. (Photo provided by Adam Stout)

PARKERSBURG — A vacant Lynn Street house was demolished ahead of schedule after a second fire in less than a year.

The Parkersburg Fire Department responded to 1333 Lynn St. at 2:47 a.m. Thursday.

“We had the fire knocked down within 15 minutes of arrival,” Parkersburg Fire Chief Jason Matthews said.

The cause of the fire is undetermined and remains under investigation, he said.

The fire started in and was confined to the attic of the two-and-a-half-story structure, but City Engineer Adam Stout made the call to raze the structure in an emergency demolition.

Parkersburg City Engineer Adam Stout had this house at 1333 Lynn St. razed Thursday over safety concerns after an early morning fire. (Photo provided by Adam Stout)

“We did put a lot of water up there, and some of the ceilings were falling in,” Matthews said.

Windows and doors were missing from the structure, making it virtually “unsecurable,” Stout said.

“The floors are ridiculously soft and unsound,” he said.

The city was finalizing documentation to take ownership of the property after City Council as the Parkersburg Urban Renewal Authority voted to accept it as a donation in February. It would have eventually been torn down, Stout said.

Firefighters responded to another early morning fire at the house in June, Matthews said.

“We noticed there (were) personal effects, bedding, things like that in the attic,” he said of the earlier fire.

Bedding was also discovered in the attic Thursday, Matthews said.

It’s the sixth fire at a vacant structure the department has responded to this year.

The city continues to work to acquire and demolish dilapidated properties, with 10 scheduled demolitions performed so far this year and another 10 emergency demolitions, Stout said. Bids are set to be opened next week for 10 more demolitions.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.