LEWISTON — Police and fire officials Monday were continuing to investigate a weekend fire that gutted a rented home on Grove Street.

The Saturday evening blaze that killed a family pet at 146 Grove St. was ruled suspicious and the site was considered an active crime scene.

No arrests had been made by Monday afternoon. The Office of State Fire Marshal was investigating the blaze with the assistance of Lewiston fire and police investigators.

Shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday, neighbors reported hearing shouting at the home and then what they thought sounded like a series of gunshots followed by a loud blast.

“They were definitely gunshots,” said Adam Hutt, who lives near the fire scene. “There was a lot of yelling and shouting and then at least three or four gunshots. They sounded like they were definitely high calibers. And then it was what sounded like an explosion.”

Hutt said that after the commotion, several people fled from the building and ran up the street. Soon after, the house was in flames.

Investigators have not released the cause of the fire.

On Dec. 13, a Lewiston man was arrested at the home after allegedly vandalizing the house and starting a fire there.

Nicholas Coy, 41, was charged with criminal mischief and arson in connection with the earlier fire and taken to the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn.

He was released on $1,060 bail a short time later and has remained free since.

Neighbors said the home at 146 Grove St. has been problematic for the past year, with all-night parties and frequent fights. One person, who didn’t want to be named, said Coy had been staying at the home.

The single-family house was extensively damaged by the fire, according to Lewiston Fire Chief Mark Caron, and may be declared a total loss.

It was not immediately clear how many people were inside the home when it went up in flames.

The Saturday night fire was one of two battled by Lewiston firefighters that evening. As they were handling the Grove Street fire, another blaze was reported at the corner of Jean and Sabattus streets.

The cause of that fire was considered accidental, and likely the result of an electrical issue, fire officials said.

Aside from the dead pet found inside the Grove Street home, no injuries were reported as a result of the fires.