Alabama City fire

Gadsden fire officials say A two-alarm fire Thursday morning in Alabama City destroyed one house and badly damaged another.

About 8:43 a.m., three fire engines, a ladder truck and a rescue truck responded to the fire on the 2500 block of Norris Avenue. one house was completely burned and the other suffered about 50 percent damage.

After a few minutes at the scene, officiais sounded the second alarm and two more fire engines arrived. It took 18 firefighters about an hour to get the fire under control. When the blaze was finally put out, one house was little more than a smoking shell and the other had severe damage to its roof. Much of the vinyl siding had been melted on the front and the right side of the house. The house that was badly damaged is a group home, but no one was home. The other house was empty. The fire also caused a gas leak, and Alagasco employees had to dig to turn off the gas because the fire melted the meter.

An investigation is ongoing and the cause of the fire has not been determined.