Something Fishy in Thursday's Rincon Valley House Fire?

A fire that displaced 10 male tenants of a boarding home in Santa Rosa Thursday is considered suspicious because it started in the bedroom of tenant who had been asked to leave, a fire investigator said Monday.

The unidentified 11th tenant was asked to leave the day before the fire at 634 Middle Rincon Road and the tenant left shortly before the blaze was discovered, Central Fire Authority Investigator Cyndi Foreman said.

The tenant has been interviewed by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office that also is investigating the cause of the blaze, Foreman said.

The fire, reported at 4:18 p.m., destroyed the 2-story, 3,000-square-foot boarding home in Rincon Valley, Foreman said.

The Red Cross provided housing assistance to the 10 displaced tenants and employees of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Rosa are collecting food and clothing for the displaced men, Foreman said.

"They all need assistance. They lost everything," Foreman said.

Firefighters from Santa Rosa and Rincon Valley controlled the blaze in 52 minutes.

Damage to the building was estimated at $300,000 and $50,000 to the contents.

The cause is still undetermined, Foreman said.

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