Arson dogs called in to help investigate Lithia house fire

LITHIA — Authorities have brought in arson dogs to help with the investigation of a fire that destroyed a two-story house Tuesday morning.

The fire consumed the four-bedroom home at 645 Thompson Road, according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, which responded about 9:30 a.m.

There was no one in the house at the time of the fire, which was noticed by Florida Forest Service employees patrolling the area during a nearby controlled burn. The controlled burn did not cause the house fire, according to Fire Rescue.

Authorities called the state Fire Marshal's Office for use of accelerant-detecting dogs, Hillsborough fire rescue said.