This story was last updated at 6:40 p.m.
An east Oak Ridge woman who uses a walker was able to escape from her home as her attic burned Tuesday afternoon thanks to help from her neighbors.
The woman, Barbara Osborne, was not injured, although two firefighters who were overheated were treated, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. He said the firefighters, Captain Mike Friley and firefighter Casey Payne, were working close to the fire, near a lot of radiant heat.
Firefighters were also looking for a female cat, Honey, that belonged to the Osbornes.
The duplex they live in on Riverview Drive was destroyed, Kerley said.
The cause of the fire, which appeared to have started in the attic in the garage area of the home, wasn’t immediately known. It took between 16 and 18 firefighters about 45 minutes to extinguish the fire, which burned intensely over the garage on a windy Tuesday afternoon. [Read more…]