A fire early Sunday morning heavily damaged a vacant Hooper Street home in Meridian. 

Meridian firefighters received the call at 12:30 a.m. to 4010 Hooper St. It took an hour to douse the flames, according to Jason Collier, Meridian Fire Marshal. Collier reported no injuries.

After firefighters determined that no one was inside, they used a transitional method to put out the fire, focusing on the exterior of the home before moving inside, Collier said. 

The front porch was collapsed and the evidence of fire was apparent from the scorch marks and broken glass Monday morning. 

Investigators haven’t determined a cause but the home had no gas or power.

The house lies less than a mile from another home, on 3708 5th St., that sustained heavy damage in early February. 

That home also didn’t have gas or power.

Collier said that on cold nights in neighborhoods with many vacant homes that people without homes may start fires in empty houses to keep warm.

“The more abandoned houses you have the more fires you have,” Collier said. 

Collier stressed that investigators hadn’t determined if that was the case in either of these house fires or whether the two house fires were connected.