[email protected] T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Michael Aschan looks at the damage done to his residence on Friday night. Someone covered parts of his house with gasoline and kerosene and set a fire. A Friday house fire has been deemed suspicious and is under investigation. Marshalltown Fire Marshal Josh Warnell said the 5:30 p.m. blaze on Nevada Street is suspicious, people should not be concerned. “There was no indication people are running around, starting fires,” he said. “Now, we are just really looking into it and putting the pieces together.” The fire was started on the back side of Michael Aschan’s home — just 15 minutes after he left town to travel to Iowa City. He got a call from his wife, who could smell gasoline and smoke. And there was an attempt to secure the back door with rope. However, the effort to ensure the door could not open did not work as Aschan said the door opened the opposite direction of what was intended. He said it was tied to prevent the door from opening to the inside, but the only way it could open was the outside.