Natural gas did not cause the house fire at 1123 Riverview Drive early Sunday morning, and the blaze is not connected to an explosion and fire that damaged a nearby house Aug. 6.

“We believe the fire is accidental,” said Glenwood Springs Fire Chief Mike Piper, referring to Sunday’s fire. “We think it started on or near the deck.”

Sunday’s fire did upwards of $300,000 in damage to the 1,800-square-foot house, according to a fire department press release.

---

---

Nobody was home when the fire broke out, Piper said, and there were no injuries. He did not release the occupants’ names. The home is owned by Ed and Anita Bruno, according to online records of the Garfield County assessor’s office.

Last August, a natural gas explosion and fire at a house at 1301 Riverview Drive seriously burned 22-year-old Luke Little.

---

---

Piper said Sunday’s fire was fed by a natural gas meter or gas line, but the blaze was “absolutely not” caused by natural gas.

The house was occupied by a family with a teenage daughter. The daughter had been in the house with three friends, but all four left before the fire started, Piper said.

The fire department continues to investigate the fire, and will consult with an insurance investigator before issuing a final report.

“We have an idea of what happened, but are not positive,” Piper said. “We feel the fire was accidental, and human caused.”

The fire started on the house’s west side, then climbed up the exterior walls and vented through the roof.

A second structure was threatened but not damaged.

The fire was first reported at 12:16 a.m. Sunday. Fire crews arrived eight minutes later, and the fire was under control at approximately 1:30 a.m.

Riverview Drive is west of Midland Avenue in the Red Mountain neighborhood.

Contact Lynn Burton: 945-8515, ext. 534

lburton@postindependent.com