A fire that was reported at about 5:09 p.m. Thursday destroyed a barn off Tuskegee Drive, authorities said.
Owned by Wayne Clark, the barn contained tools, supplies, and equipment, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.
A small road off Tuskegee Drive that leads to the barn was blocked by tree limbs—preventing even a small rescue truck from using it—but firefighters and police officers were able to get to the scene using a gravel road near Teller Village Apartments. The fire was originally reported as a brush fire. But firefighters who parked a truck on the road and hiked in soon realized it was a barn fire, Kerley said.
The Oliver Springs and Marlow Volunteer fire departments both responded to help, and they used their forestry mini pumpers to extinguish flames in the trees around the barn, Kerley said.
The perimeter was controlled, but the barn was allowed to burn, the chief said. He said barn fires are very difficult to put out because the open wood burns very quickly.
The burn had been secured and it had electricity, but the Oak Ridge Electric Department has now disconnected the power, Kerley said.
The cause of the fire is unknown, and firefighters will investigate tomorrow, Kerley said. A specialist will stay at the scene until the fire is out.
Kerley said residents sometimes ask him why the Oak Ridge Fire Department responds to fires in Marlow and Oliver Springs. The mutual aid provided by those two departments on Thursday illustrates why the city does it, the chief said. Oak Ridge helps them, and they, in return, help Oak Ridge, Kerley said.
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