Deck fire apparently caused by charcoal ashes discarded in trash bag

June 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Golfcrest Lane Fire

The Oak Ridge Fire Department responds to a trash fire apparently started by charcoal ashes on Golfcrest Lane on Wednesday. Pictured above are Oak Ridge Fire Department Capt. Kerry Osborne on top of ladder, and firefighters Joe Brackins, left, and Seth Burnett.
(Photo by Tom Scott)

Charcoal ashes discarded in a trash bag on a deck apparently started a Wednesday afternoon fire on Golfcrest Lane, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said Thursday.

Firefighters responded to a report of smoke at 119 Golfcrest Lane at 12:49 p.m. Wednesday. A neighbor threw water on the flames before the Fire Department arrived and the small fire was out, an ORFD press release said.

The only damage to the home was a small hole in two boards in the deck. [Read more...]

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Council rejects funding for sinkhole repairs, tax rate reduction; approves Habitat property transfer

June 2, 2013 By 11 Comments
Oak Ridge High School Soccer Field Sinkhole

The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday rejected a request to reimburse the school system about $36,000 for repairs to this 13-foot sinkhole under the Oak Ridge High School soccer field.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday rejected a request to use red light camera money to reimburse the school system $36,000 for sinkhole repairs made in April at the Oak Ridge High School soccer field.

Council also agreed to transfer a small burned-out lot on Hillside Road to Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County and rejected a proposal to lower the property tax rate by one cent.

Asked about the sinkhole repair reimbursement on Tuesday, Oak Ridge Schools Interim Superintendent Bob Smallridge said the school system, which expects revenues to fall by about $1 million and is cutting 18 positions, has a tight budget. [Read more...]

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Hay bailer destroyed in fire

May 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Hay Bailer Fire

A hay bailer was destroyed in a fire on Wednesday afternoon on Oliver Springs Highway near Batley Road. (Photo by Adam Daugherty)

A hay bailer was destroyed in a Wednesday afternoon fire on Oliver Springs Highway near Batley Road.

Hay that had been cut in the field did not burn in the 1:20 p.m. fire.

Volunteer fire departments from Marlow and Oliver Springs responded. [Read more...]

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Man uses water bottle, clothing to put out stovetop fire

April 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

An Oak Ridge man used a water bottle and clothing to put out a fire that started after he fell asleep while cooking chicken fat on his stove early Monday morning, authorities said.

Walter H. Starnes said there was smoke in the home on North Alabama Road when he woke up, and he used a water bottle to extinguish a cabinet fire and clothing to smother a fire in a pot on a stove, according to a report by Oak Ridge Fire Department Battalion Chief Marty Griffith. [Read more...]

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Man pulled unconscious from burning truck discharged from UT hospital

April 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Irene Lane Crash

Jason J. West of Oliver Springs has been discharged from a Knoxville hospital after being pulled unconscious from this burning pickup truck on Irene Lane on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Oak Ridge Police Department)

The Oliver Springs man who was pulled unconscious from a burning pickup truck on Irene Lane on Friday night has been discharged from the University of Tennessee Medical Center, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Jason J. West, 25, of Old Hen Valley Road, hit two utility poles and damaged concrete curbs as his 1999 Dodge Dakota pickup truck went down an embankment on the east side of North Illinois Avenue at about 11:30 p.m. Friday.

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Christopher W. Wallace said the pickup truck was in heavy brush about 100 feet from the entrance to Irene Lane. Reports said it had flipped, and the engine compartment was engulfed in fire, Wallace wrote in a crash report. [Read more...]

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Motel 6 fire in Clinton causes estimated $550,000 in damages

April 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Clinton Motel 6 Fire

A fire at the Motel 6 in Clinton on Thursday afternoon caused an estimated $550,000 in damages, authorities said. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A Thursday afternoon fire at the Motel 6 in Clinton that apparently spread from a mulch bed outside the building to the roof and attic damaged at least 20 rooms and caused an estimated $550,000 damage, authorities said.

The two-story hotel is off state Highway 61 near Interstate 75. The fire was reported at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday. No one was injured.

The flames went up the side of the building and, driven by high winds, made it to the attic, where the fire burned through the roof, WYSH Radio in Clinton reported. Officials said at least 20 rooms were damaged by fire, and a large part of the rest of the building received smoke and water damage. [Read more...]

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Fire destroys mobile home in Marlow

April 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Marlow Mobile Home Fire

An unoccupied mobile home was destroyed, but no one was injured in a fire early Sunday morning on Cumberland View Road in Marlow. (Photos by Tom Scott)

An unoccupied mobile home was destroyed, but no one was injured in a fire early Sunday morning on Cumberland View Road in Marlow, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 2:45 a.m. near Laurel Road, which is east of Oak Ridge and north of Highway 61.

The home was destroyed, said Stephanie Fox, Marlow Volunteer Fire Department assistant chief. [Read more...]

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Fire apparently caused by cigarette damages Tara Hills apartment

April 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Tara Hills Apartment Fire

A fire apparently caused by cigarette smoking caused minimal damage to a second-floor Tara Hills apartment on Wednesday afternoon.

A fire apparently caused by cigarette smoking caused minimal damage to a second-floor Tara Hills apartment on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

No one was home when firefighters arrived at about 1 p.m. Wednesday, said Josh Waldo, Oak Ridge Fire Department assistant fire chief.

The fire caused an estimated $1,000 in damages, mostly to the building’s exterior, Waldo said.

Firefighters found an ashtray on the porch. They removed exterior paneling after they spotted smoke behind it.

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Car burns on Hillside Road

April 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Hillside Road Car Fire

A car caught fire on Hillside Road near Hunter Circle on Saturday morning. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A car caught fire on Hillside Road at about 11:43 a.m. Saturday.

The car’s owner was driving west on Hillside Road near Hunter Circle when smoke started coming out from under the dash after she turned off her heater, an Oak Ridge Fire Department report said. She unlatched the hood and her passenger disconnected the battery, but the car, owned by Louise Long of Oliver Springs, had already started to burn.

By the time firefighters arrived, the passenger compartment was on fire, the report said. They were able to extinguish it with a water hose. [Read more...]

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Sheriff’s Department investigates Lake City fire

March 13, 2013 By 1 Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County investigators are looking into the cause of a fire that destroyed a home on Old Fraterville Hollow Road near Lake City Monday night.

The home’s owner, Kenneth Duncan, had been allowing his sons to stay at the home when the fire broke out Monday night. The two sons—Eddie and Anthony Duncan—along with a woman staying at the house with them had been visiting neighbors when one sibling saw an orange glow coming from the direction of the house.

[Read more...]

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Small fire at EMS station goes out when power cut

March 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Anderson County EMS Fire

The Oak Ridge fire and electric departments respond to a small fire in a meter box at the Anderson County Emergency Medical Services Station 2 on Raleigh Road. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A small fire at a meter box at the Anderson County Emergency Medical Services station on Raleigh Road went out when the power to the building was cut, authorities said.

The electrical fire occurred at ACEMS Station 2 at about 4:55 p.m. Friday.

Weather had caused a service line to spark, said Josh Waldo, Oak Ridge Fire Department assistant fire chief. There was no damage to the building, which once housed the Oak Ridge Fire Department Alarm Office.

[Read more...]

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Report: Child playing with lighter under bed when fire found

February 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment
East Tennessee Avenue Mattress Fire

A child admitted playing with a lighter under a bed when a mattress fire was found in an East Tennessee Avenue home Monday night, authorities said. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A child admitted playing with a lighter under a bed in a home on East Tennessee Avenue when a mattress fire was found at about 7:04 p.m. Monday, an Oak Ridge Fire Department report said.

Firefighters reported light smoke inside the house when they arrived, and they quickly found a smoldering mattress fire in a bedroom inside, the report said.

They reported the fire was under control, ventilated the home, and removed the mattress and box frame.

[Read more...]

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