No one was injured in the fire, which was contained to a room in a downstairs apartment of the building on the 1800 block of Sigma Chi NE, according to the Albuquerque Fire Department.
The house is owned by the Lambda Chi fraternity but sublet to Telos, UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said. Telos is a Christian group that provides student housing at UNM.
The house was predominantly occupied by UNM students, who are all being relocated, McKinsey said.
F iref ighters were dispatched to the structure at 2:50 a.m. Thursday.
"The fire was quickly put out by our first engine company," Albuquerque Fire Department spokeswoman Melissa Romero said.
"It was intentionally set," Romero added. She said she could not elaborate because of the ongoing investigation.
Thursday's fire was the latest in a string of arsons that have plagued the Sigma Chi area since August 2008. Firefighters responded to five fires in the 1800 block of Sigma Chi Road between August and November of last year. Two of those fires were in the basement of the main Telos house.
Romero said fire investigators determined all five of those fires were intentionally set.
The number of arsons on the UNM campus has steadily increased over the past few years, according to crime statistics released this week by UNM. In 2006, there was one arson reported on campus compared with five in 2007 and eight in 2008.
To see more of the Albuquerque Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.abqjournal.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Albuquerque Journal, N.M. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

More News:
Market Updates |
Stock Alerts |
All Trading News |
Stock Index