Oak Ridge Today

Two people have minor injuries after two fires this month

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A fire was reported in a storage room at Tennessee Tool and Engineering (TTE Casting Technologies Inc.) in Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge at about 3:40 p.m. Thursday, March 9, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A fire was reported in a storage room at Tennessee Tool and Engineering (TTE Casting Technologies Inc.) in Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge at about 3:40 p.m. Thursday, March 9, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Two people were injured in fires in Oak Ridge this month, although the injuries were reported to be minor.

The first fire was reported at 515 Utica Circle in central Oak Ridge at about 3:33 p.m. Friday, March 3. One adult was taken by an ambulance to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, said Sergeant Jeremy Huddleston of the Oak Ridge Police Department. The fire was extinguished by the Oak Ridge Fire Department.

ORFD Battalion Chief Eric Rackard said a stove eye that had been left on in the second-floor apartment started a fire in grease in a pan. The resident tried to bring the pan outside to throw it outside, but the grease was burning too much for the resident to be able to handle the pan properly, Rackard said.

The fire burned the resident’s arm, Rackard said. The injuries were described as minor. The fire was deemed to be accidental.

The second fire was reported at Tennessee Tool and Engineering (TTE Casting Technologies Inc.) in Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge at about 3:40 p.m. Thursday. That fire started in a storage room, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge spent about $22,000 responding to Sevier County fires

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People being removed from vehicles while Oak Ridge Fire Department crews helped respond to the Sevier County wildfire starting Monday, Nov. 29, 2016. (Photo by Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley)

 

Oak Ridge spent about $22,000 responding to the wildfires in Sevier County in November and December, but the city doesn’t want to seek reimbursement.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department sent fire crews to Pigeon Forge on November 28 and 29, and then to Gatlinburg from November 30 to December 4. The ORFD provided structural and wildfire suppression, and search and rescue services in Sevier County, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said in a February 6 memo to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson.

Besides the emergency services that were provided, four employees of the Oak Ridge Fire Department provided incident management services in the Gatlinburg fire command center, serving as logistics and communications specialist on the state Incident Management Team, Kerley said.

He said it cost about $22,000 in staff, equipment, and fuel to respond to the mutual aid request for the historically large, deadly Sevier County fires, which were started by the Chimney Top 2 fire and fueled by high winds, dry conditions, and downed power lines. The money for the city’s firefighting aid came out of the Oak Ridge Fire Department salary, overtime, and fuel budget. [Read more…]

School board picks Scarboro Park for new preschool

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The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city's school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new preschool should be built at Scarboro Park, the Oak Ridge Board of Education said in a unanimous vote on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The new preschool should be built at Scarboro Park, the Oak Ridge Board of Education said in a unanimous vote on Monday.

The site selection in a 5-0 voice vote came after about 15 minutes of discussion during a school board meeting on Monday.

The other option was Elm Grove Park. That park on East Tennessee Avenue in east Oak Ridge had been identified as the preferred site after a preschool report was published in October 2015.

With one exception, school board members said the two sites are relatively equal as measured by a number of factors outlined by BOE Vice Chair Bob Eby, including learning environment, building and transportation costs, safety and security, expandability and impact on parks, and community and City Council support. The one significant difference: There has been opposition to building the new preschool at Elm Grove Park, while the Scarboro community has welcomed the idea of building the new preschool at Scarboro Park.

“The difference is very stark,” Oak Ridge Board of Education member Angi Agle said. “The community support from Scarboro does make a huge difference.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge school board to discuss preschool sites during Feb. 24 work session

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Elm Grove Park Preschool Conceptual Site Plan Jan 2017 Large

A conceptual site plan for a new preschool at Elm Grove Park on East Tennessee Avenue in east Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy Studio 4 Design/City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Board of Education will discuss preschool sites during a February 24 work session.

The work session starts at 8 a.m. Friday, February 24, in the conference room of the Robert J. Smallridge School Administration Building at 304 New York Avenue.

Oak Ridge municipal and school officials had previously identified Elm Grove Park off East Tennessee Avenue in east Oak Ridge as a preferred site. It’s a city-owned parcel and the site of a former school, and it’s relatively flat and has city-owned utilities. Also, there aren’t many obstacles that would affect construction, and site borings have already been done, city officials said recently. But a petition drive has been started to object to building the preschool there.

In the meantime, city officials learned that a day care center recently closed at Scarboro Community Center, and they are now also considering adding on to that city-owned building off Carver Avenue. The Scarboro Community Center was built with federal Community Development Block Grant funds, and there is no debt on the building, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said. It already has a gymnasium, a cafeteria, offices, multi-purpose rooms, and smaller rooms, and there is a playground across the street, city officials said. Additional classrooms and administrative and staff space would be added. [Read more…]

City, schools could pick preschool site soon

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Elm Grove Park Preschool Conceptual Site Plan Jan 2017 Large

A conceptual site plan for a new preschool at Elm Grove Park on East Tennessee Avenue in east Oak Ridge. Officials said the plan would keep the park and the walking trail. (Image courtesy Studio Four Design/City of Oak Ridge)

 

Oak Ridge municipal and school officials could start selecting a site for the new preschool as early as this month. There are two options being considered: Elm Grove Park and Scarboro Community Center.

Financing for the project, which would include bonds, could be included in the budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

In the meantime, a petition drive has been started to oppose building the preschool at Elm Grove Park.

The park had previously been announced as the preferred site for the new preschool, which has been on the city’s wish list for many years. Elm Grove Park is a city-owned parcel in east Oak Ridge off East Tennessee Avenue. It’s the site of a former school, it’s relatively flat, and it has city-owned utilities. Also, there aren’t many obstacles that would affect construction, and site borings have already been done, city officials said last week. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge firefighters help rescue 12 people trapped in cars surrounded by fires near Dollywood

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People being removed from vehicles while Oak Ridge Fire Department crews helped respond to the Sevier County wildfire starting Monday, Nov. 29, 2016. (Photo by Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley)

People being removed from vehicles while Oak Ridge Fire Department crews help respond to the wildfires that raged across Sevier County on Monday, Nov. 29, 2016. (Photo by Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4:30 p.m.

Oak Ridge firefighters helped rescue 12 people and four dogs from three cars surrounded by fires behind Dollywood near Pigeon Forge on Monday.

The 12 visitors had been staying in rental cabins behind the Dollywood theme park.

The rescue happened at about 11 p.m. Monday after wildfires fueled by high winds spread from Chimney Tops in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Gatlinburg area.

Before the rescue, an Oak Ridge Fire Department crew, along with five Maryville firefighters, had responded to several fire-related situations in Pigeon Forge, most of them in the Dollywood area, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. Pigeon Forge is near Gatlinburg.

At about 11 p.m., the firefighters were dispatched to Mitchell Road to help a man trapped in a cabin with fire all around him. But firefighters were unable to get there because the road was blocked by downed trees and power poles, the press release said. Firefighters began cutting trees until they encountered downed power lines and transformers.

Once Sevier County Electric System workers arrived and cut electrical power to the area, the crew again entered the fire area to rescue the man, the press release said. [Read more…]

Woman injured in Friday crash in stable condition at UT Medical Center

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Mindy Carter

Mindy Carter (Photo used with family’s permission)

 

The woman trapped and injured after a trailer carrying a loader crashed into the car she was driving in Oak Ridge on Friday was in stable condition at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville on Tuesday, a spokesperson said.

Arminda “Mindy” Carter, 32, of Oak Ridge was flown to the UT Medical Center by a Lifestar helicopter after the Friday evening crash on Emory Valley Road at Carnegie Drive in east Oak Ridge.

Both legs were broken in the crash and she had broken ribs and right shoulder, as well as multiple lacerations and a torn quad, said Carter’s brother, Justin Pruitt.

She had a surgery on her left leg, which was broken above the ankle and below the knee, on Friday night, Pruitt said.

She was scheduled to have a surgery on a broken femur in her right leg on Tuesday, Pruitt said Monday evening. [Read more…]

Police: Trailer came loose from truck before crashing into car on Friday

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The crash between a car and trailer with a small loader on it on Emory Valley Road on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, happened after the trailer came loose from a truck hitch and crossed into an oncoming lane, where it hit the car, authorities said. It took the Oak Ridge Fire Department and rescuers about 55 minutes to free the female driver pinned inside the car, and they used a tow truck to help lift the trailer and loader to take weight off the driver, Mindy Carter, 32, of Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The crash between a car and trailer with a small loader on it on Emory Valley Road on Friday happened after the trailer came loose from a truck hitch and crossed into an oncoming lane, where it hit the car, authorities said.

The 1994 GMC truck was being driven east on Emory Valley Road at about 5:29 p.m. Friday by Gerald D. Cureton, 71, of Knoxville, when the two-vehicle crash occurred at Carnegie Drive, according to an Oak Ridge Police Department crash report.

The truck was towing a trailer with a small Case four-wheeled skid steer loader.

Headed west, in the opposite direction, was Arminda “Mindy” Carter, 32, of Oak Ridge. She was driving a 2010 Toyota Camry four-door sedan, the report said.

As the two vehicles approached the intersection, the trailer came free of the hitch used to secure it to the truck, according to the ORPD crash report. [Read more…]

Miraculous: Woman survives when trailer, small loader crash into car

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Rescuers said it was a miracle that a woman survived when a trailer carrying a small loader crashed into her Toyota Camry on Emory Valley Road on Friday evening, Sept. 2, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:30 p.m.

Rescuers said it was a miracle that a woman survived when a trailer carrying a small loader crashed into her Toyota Camry on Emory Valley Road on Friday evening.

It took the Oak Ridge Fire Department about 55 minutes to remove the woman, who was pinned inside the car. She was flown by a Lifestar medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.

The woman, who was not identified, was talking to rescuers, authorities said. Her condition wasn’t clear, but she was reported to be conscious and alert.

“That’s probably the worst extrication I’ve seen where the person was still alive,” Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said. “There was an angel with her today.” [Read more…]

Fire apparently starts with oily rags, causes heavy damage to Eagles building

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A fire caused heavy damage to the Fraternal Order of Eagles at 1650 Oak Ridge Turnpike early Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016, authorities said. Damage is visible from a side door at the Eagles at about 4 a.m. Saturday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 14.

A fire that appears to have started with oily rags being stored improperly in a kitchen caused heavy damage to the Fraternal Order of Eagles on Oak Ridge Turnpike early Saturday, and the structure may have to be rebuilt, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 2 a.m. Saturday at 1650 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The Eagles building, which has yellow siding, is the first building on the right side of the Turnpike as you head toward Kingston from Illinois Avenue.

There was heavy smoke coming out of all sides of the building when firefighters arrived, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said.

An Eagles member said the building had an alarm system, but there is no record of the alarm company calling 911 to report the fire, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said in a press release. Instead, a passing motorist saw the heavy smoke coming from the building and called 911 to report the fire. [Read more…]

Authorities ask drivers to follow parking rules at flea market, allow access for emergency vehicles

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Vehicles are parked in front of a “No Parking” sign in the turn lane and fire lane during the flea market at Oak Ridge High School on Saturday, March 26, 2016. (Photo courtesy Darryl Kerley)

 

Authorities are asking drivers to follow the parking rules at the Saturday morning flea markets at Oak Ridge High School. That will allow emergency vehicles to access the parking lot in emergencies, they said.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department and Oak Ridge Police Department were called to Oak Ridge High School again on Saturday morning to correct the parking situation at the Flea Market, which is operated by the school as a fundraiser, a press release said.

“Cars continue to block access for fire and emergency vehicles all around the venue and are interfering with the new traffic signal,” the press release said.

“We have had a reported car fire and an emergency medical situation in the past and could not get to the incident because of where vehicles were parked,” Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. “I have worked with the school system to correct the situation, and they have taken the appropriate steps to resolve the parking problem. The problem remains that drivers are not following direction of signage and continue to park inappropriately.” [Read more…]

Man rescues woman from porch during house fire on Robertsville Road

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TJ Giles and Jacky Smith at Robertsville Road House Fire on March 25, 2016

Oak Ridge Fire Department Investigator Thomas (T.J.) Giles, left, talks to Jacky Smith, who carried a woman from a porch during a house fire on Robertsville Road on Friday evening, March 25, 2016. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:20 a.m.

An Oak Ridge man rescued a disoriented woman from a porch during a house fire on Robertsville Road on Friday evening, authorities said.

The fire was reported at 7:22 p.m. Friday at 394 Robertsville Road.

Firefighters found heavy fire and smoke coming from the windows and attic of the home when they arrived, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said.

Jacky L. Smith, of Oak Ridge, said he was driving west on Robertsville Road when he noticed smoke coming from the house. He turned around and found Ruth Stewart sitting on her front porch confused. He asked Stewart if she knew her house was on fire and she replied, “Yes, I was cooking, and the stove caught on fire,” Kerley said in a press release. [Read more…]