A fire in Sun City destroyed a home early this morning, and investigators are still trying to find out what happened.

Assistant Fire Chief Hank Oleson said the Sun City Fire Department was called at 2:30 a.m. when a motorist on 99th Avenue reported seeing flames coming from a home in the 9900 block of West Desert Rock Drive.

“When crews arrived, they found a well-involved structure fire,” Oleson said. “We initially could not make entry, so we fought it defensively. Eventually we were able to get in there and knock it down. We had it under control about 45 minutes later.”

Six units and between 20 and 24 firefighters responded to the blaze. No one was present at the home, and the only injury was to a firefighter who, Oleson said, appeared to be suffering from heat exhaustion.

“He was transported to the hospital, and he is in stable condition,” he said.

Investigators from the fire department as well as the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office were still at the scene at 9 this morning.

Oleson said the status of the house is somewhat murky.

“Apparently the house was abandoned or foreclosed on, we’re not sure,” he said. “There were reports that the owner of the house died several months ago, but a relative was staying there, according to the party responsible for the home we spoke to.”

Oleson said MCSO is attempting to find that man as an investigative lead.

“We don’t know if that person was there at the time of the fire,” he said. “But no one was there when we got there.”

Jeff Dempsey may be reached at 623-876-2531 or jdempsey@yourwestvalley.com.