Information from WYSH Radio
Two weekend fires in Anderson County are being investigated as suspicious.
The first occurred late Sunday night at a mobile home on Hillvale Road. Deputies reported that the trailer was engulfed in flames upon their arrival at around 11:30 p.m. Sunday. Crews from the Claxton and Andersonville Volunteer Fire Departments arrived and doused the flames, after which the on-scene commander told Deputy Matthew Landis that he suspected the cause of the fire was arson.
Neighbors told deputies that the property owner had passed away several years ago and they did not know who owns it now. Neighbors said that they had seen a woman and two men at the house earlier in the evening, and said they suspected that the trailer was being used as a meth lab.
With the cause of the fire deemed suspicious, the case was turned over to the Criminal Investigation Division for follow-up.
The second fire was reported at around 12:30 p.m. at a home on Andy’s Ridge Road. A passerby saw the fire and called 911 and when firefighters and deputies arrived, the structure was ablaze. The fire was extinguished by crews from the Briceville Volunteer Department, who indicated their belief to law enforcement that this fire, too, had been deliberately set.
Deputies learned that the previous tenant had moved out recently and that none of his neighbors knew where he had moved. Electricity to the single-wide mobile home had been cut off due to non-payment.
The cause of the fire is now under investigation by the CID.
No one was hurt in either fire.
WYSH Radio in Clinton is an Oak Ridge Today news partner.
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