Nearly three weeks ago, two households of local residents became homeless when a massive house fire destroyed side-by-side homes in the 100 block of Fourth Avenue Northeast. The blaze, which was fought relentlessly by fire departments from Oelwein, Maynard and Fairbank, has now been determined an act of arson. According to Oelwein Fire Chief Mike Hillman, investigation was turned over to the Oelwein Police Department due to the suspected cause of the fire being a criminal offense.