Chilliwack firefighters celebrated the new year by snuffing out a "suspicious" fire in an abandoned down town house early Tuesday morning.

When they arrived, firefighters found smoke coming from an uninhabited home in the 46000 block of Bole Avenue.

Firefighters forced their way into the home and extinguished a blaze in the living room.

The house sat between two apartment buildings, but Fire Chief Richard Ryall said the fire was confined to the house's interior.

He added that "entry into the house had been compromised and the cause of the fire is suspicious."

The fire department and the Chilliwack RCMP are continuing to investigate.