T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Michael Aschan looks at the damage done to his residence on Friday night. Someone covered parts of his house with gasoline and kerosene and set a fire.

While a Friday house fire has been deemed suspicious and is under investigation, Marshalltown Fire Marshal Josh Warnell said the 5:30 p.m. blaze on Nevada Street should not cause concern.

“There was no indication people are running around, starting fires,” he said. “Now, we are just really looking into it and putting the pieces together.”

The fire was started on the back side of Michael Aschan’s home — just 15 minutes after he left town to travel to Iowa City. He got a call from his wife, who could smell gasoline and smoke. And there was an attempt to secure the back door with rope. However, the effort to ensure the door could not open did not work as Aschan said the door opened the opposite direction of what was intended. He said it was tied to prevent the door from opening to the inside, but the only way it could open was the outside.

The door was secured with a thick purple and black rope, and gasoline and kerosene was spread from one corner of the house exterior to the porch. Fortunately, the Marshalltown Fire Department responded quickly with two units and not all of the structure touched with gasoline went up in flames. On Tuesday, the smell of gasoline and smoke was still apparent.

Warnell said evidence is now at the Iowa Crime Lab.

“We are painting the picture, putting the pieces together and we will figure it out,” he said.

Aschan’s wife was inside when the fire was lit. Thanks to the quick action of the MFD, the flames did not spread to the interior and she was able to escape.

What mystifies Aschan, 37, is why someone would do such a thing, especially since he cannot think of anyone who would dislike him or his wife enough to set fire to their home. There are a lot of toys belonging to his 2-year-old daughter sitting in the backyard. Since the fire began when the sun was up, there was plenty of evidence, he said, that children lived there.

“There are two houses in this neighborhood that have been sitting empty for 15 plus years,” Aschan said. “There’s some obviously run down but they picked this one, where obviously a kid lives.”

He believes whoever was responsible was watching him because the fire was set 15 minutes after he left.

“I’m gone every other Friday for three hours a night,” Aschan said. “That seems very coincidental.”

Since the fire, he said they have all been sleeping in the same room – when he can sleep. Aschan has taken steps to add security and gets up frequently in the night to check the backyard.

Deputy Fire Chief Christopher Cross stressed the fire is under investigation and the department is now waiting for results of the evidence.

“We approach every fire with an open mind, but will not make a determination of arson until the investigation is complete,” he said.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.