A house fire that might have started from rags in a case of spontaneous combustion caught the attention of a walking neighbor near a home at 3823 40th SW around 9:49pm Monday night. 

The house, unoccupied is being refinished, with the occupant set to move in on the 30th. 

But for now, no smoke alarms are in place.

The neighbor said he called another neighbor to get the number of the man moving in but called 911 first. The Fire Department dispatched multiple units and the fire was quickly doused. A small pump was brought in to minimize water damage and fans were placed to clear the smoke. Damage was not extensive.

"It's lucky this wasn't at 3am or it would have been worse," said the homeowner. "At 3 am it would have been a completely different story," the Incident Commander agreed.

No official cause for the fire was announced and no damage estimate was released.