Muscatine's historic William and Harry Huttig house went up in flames on Tuesday afternoon, December 1, 2015. And a day later the fire is still smoldering as fire crews investigate how the fire started.
The home was estimated as a $300,000 loss, and Muscatine Assistant Fire Chief Mike Hartman thinks once all the inside antiques are assessed, that number will go up.
Crews just started looking into what caused the fire and where it started. And while there are no definitive answers yet, they say it may have started in the basement.
Officials say the age of the home complicated things at the scene.
"With that type of construction, that fire can just move from one spot to another so quickly that it can get ahead of us, and we have to constantly keep an eye on the integrity of the structure to see if it's safe for our people to be in there or not," says Hartman.
At least 30 firefighters were on scene.
"I can't remember the last time we had that many at a house fire. But it was a very big house," says Hartman.
The cause may be unknown but one thing's for sure. The corner of Third and Linn will always have a scar.
For more footage from the fire on Tuesday, click here.
