Man escapes, home destroyed by fire

 

A man escaped with minor injuries, but a home was destroyed in a Friday morning fire on Lindale Lane in west Oak Ridge.

The fire was reported at about 6:30 a.m. Friday at 15 Lindale Lane, which is off West Lincoln Road just north of the Dollar General store.

The fire was reported to have started in the basement, where there is a garage in a corner of the house. The cause was unknown, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said Friday morning.

The fire was fueled by natural gas, Kerley said. A gas line comes into the house in that area, and there is a water heater next to the gas line in the garage, he said.

The fire burned up a wall on that side of the house, went into the attic, and set the attic on fire, Kerley said.

It burned a floor joist below a bedroom above the garage, and the bedroom collapsed into the garage, Kerley said. The fire also burned through the roof of the home, and the Oak Ridge Fire Department used its tower truck to help fight the blaze.

The part of the house where the garage is was in danger of collapsing—the block wall had buckled outward—and the Oak Ridge Utility District was digging up the gas line to shut it off Friday morning.

Kerley said the adult male inside the home had escaped the fire, but he had gone back inside the house to get his cell phone and keys. A neighbor got him out, Kerley said. The man had slight smoke inhalation but did not want to be taken to the hospital, Kerley said.

It took more than an hour to put out the fire. The Oak Ridge Fire Department responded with three fire engines, a rescue truck, the tower truck, and a dozen firefighters.

Anderson County EMS and Oak Ridge Police Department also responded. The Y-12 National Security Complex Fire Department moved an engine to Fire Station 3, the central fire station, for backup. Oliver Springs Fire Department also sent an engine to back up Oak Ridge, Kerley said.

The Oak Ridge Electric Department disconnected power to the home, and the Red Cross is helping the man who lived at the house with food and lodging, Kerley said.

The fire occurred when temperatures were roughly in the low to mid-teens, and water froze on the road and vehicles.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

 

 

 

 

 

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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