A fire destroyed a house in Albert Lea Wednesday.

A neighbor of the empty house, at 408 Frank Hall Dr., reported the fire around 8 p.m. The Albert Lea Fire Department extinguished the blaze shortly, but not until after it had burned out the second floor and attic.

According to the investigation by the fire department and Albert Lea Police Department, the house has been abandoned for a month and had no electricity and gas. The owner lives in the Twin Cities area, and an Albert Lea man, Ruben Garcia, has been regularly checking out the house. He was not in the house at the time of the fire.

Police say the fire is suspicious because the house was empty and utilities were cut off.