Oak Ridge Today

Firefighters contain brush fire on ridge off Yarnell Road in Claxton

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Firefighters contained a brush fire of about two to three acres on a ridge above Yarnell Road just outside south Clinton on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016. Pictured above are two trucks with bulldozers from the Tennessee Division of Forestry. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 7 p.m. Nov. 17.

CLAXTON—Firefighters contained a brush fire on a ridge off Yarnell Road in Claxton on Wednesday night, authorities said.

The Tennessee Division of Forestry said the fire burned seven acres, and arson was the cause.

It was in a wooded area just outside south Clinton, said Dusty Sharpe, assistant chief of the Claxton Volunteer Fire Department. It was reported at about 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Most of the firefighters came down from the fire at about 9:40 p.m. Among those who responded were firefighters from Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department, Claxton Volunteer Fire Department, Clinton Fire Department, Marlow Volunteer Fire Department, and the Tennessee Division of Forestry.

Sharpe said the fire was contained, but it had a few hot spots that would continue to burn the next few hours. There was no damage to any structures, he said. [Read more…]

Two injured, one picked up by medical helicopter after head-on crash on Mahoney Road

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Two-Car Crash on Mahoney Road July 21 2016 Slider

Two people were injured and one was picked up by a medical helicopter after a head-on two-vehicle crash on Mahoney Road in Oliver Springs on Thursday, July 21, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:30 a.m.

OLIVER SPRINGS—Two drivers were injured and one was picked up by a medical helicopter after a head-on two-vehicle crash on Mahoney Road in Oliver Springs on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday near New Mountain View Baptist Church. Charges are pending against one of the drivers, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The THP said a 1997 Cadillac STS driven by Blake Brakins, 33, of Oak Ridge, was traveling south on Mahoney Road when it crossed over the center line and crashed head-on into a 2016 Ford Fusion traveling north on Mahoney Road and driven by Isabel Cates, 80, of Oliver Springs.

Brakins and Cates were both injured, the THP said. Cates was wearing a seat belt, while Brakins was not, authorities said. [Read more…]

Marlow man flown to hospital after falling off ladder

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A Marlow man was flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after falling eight feet off a ladder while working on his roof on Phillip Freels Lane on Monday morning, July 4, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

MARLOW—A Marlow man was flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after he fell eight feet off a ladder while working on his roof on Monday, authorities said.

The fall was reported at about 10 a.m. Monday on Phillip Freels Lane, said Stephanie Fox, assistant chief of the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department. The fire department responded to the fall and so did Anderson County Emergency Medical Services.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department helped set up a landing zone at Old Batley Road and Oliver Springs Highway for a University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter. [Read more…]

No one injured, but medical oxygen tanks explode in Dutch Valley Road fire

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Firefighters from Oliver Springs, Marlow, and Medford responded to a fire on Dutch Valley Road on Sunday, April 10, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

No one was injured, but oxygen tanks that appeared to be medical exploded in a fire on Dutch Valley Road on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 1:01 p.m. Sunday at 2757 Dutch Valley Road. No one was inside the home at the time of the fire, said Wes Horton, Marlow Volunteer Fire Department captain.

The home was destroyed. The cause wasn’t immediately known, Horton said.

Besides Marlow, firefighters also responded from Oliver Springs and Medford. There were a total of a dozen firefighters and four fire trucks. Anderson County EMS was also on standby.

The fire was contained in about 30 minutes. [Read more…]

Bluegrass music featured in benefit for Colton Stout Memorial Scholarship

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Bluegrass music and barbecue will be featured in a scholarship benefit show in Oak Ridge on April 8.

The show is titled “Follow Chaos: An Evening of Bluegrass.” It’s at the historic Grove Theatre in Oak Ridge at 7 p.m. Friday, April 8.

The show will feature area bluegrass musicians Mason T. and Carl Capps, and Hardin Valley Thunder.

“This special night is a benefit for the Colton Stout Memorial Scholarship and promises to be an evening of homegrown, finger-picking musicianship, and finger-licking cuisine with catering by Buddy’s Barbecue,” a press release said.

Established in 2014, the Colton Stout Memorial Scholarship helps selected students obtain their EMT-Advanced Certification. For students, this evening’s benefit concert is confirmation that everyday offers an opportunity to change someone’s life for the better, the press release said.

Colton Stout served admirably as a Campbell County EMT-IV, was a proud member of the Anderson County Rescue Squad, and a firefighter with Marlow Volunteer Fire Department. Helping others was vitally important to Colton, and it is the Colton Stout Memorial Scholarship’s mission to carry on his commitment to helping others by awarding scholarships each year to individuals who share similar goals of service. [Read more…]

Two adults escape, no injuries in Saturday morning fire in Marlow

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Two people escaped and no one was injured in a fire in a single-wide mobile home on Farmers Hollow Road in Marlow on Saturday morning, Jan. 2, 2016, authorities said. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

Two adults escaped and no one was injured in a Saturday morning fire in a large single-wide mobile home in Marlow, authorities said.

Two adults were in the home when the fire was reported at about 9:40 a.m. Saturday at 238 Farmers Hollow Road, but they escaped before firefighters arrived, said Stephanie Fox, assistant chief of the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department.

A man who lives there said a wall behind a wood-burning stove was on fire when he woke up, and he helped his mother out of the home, Fox said.

But neither was injured, and no one was taken to the hospital, Fox said. [Read more…]

Woman reports falling asleep with cigarette in hand before Tuesday fire

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Smith Road Mattress Fire

A woman who escaped a Tuesday morning fire with her son and dog told authorities she fell asleep with a cigarette in her hand. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

Information from WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today/Tom Scott

A woman who escaped a Tuesday morning fire with her son and dog told authorities she fell asleep with a cigarette in her hand.

The fire was reported at about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday on Smith Road in Anderson County, east of Oliver Springs in Marlow.

The 77-year-old woman who lives at the home woke up to her hand being burned, said the incident commander, Captain Jordan Alcorn of the Oliver Springs Fire Department.

She activated a Life Alert emergency alarm and fled the home with her son and small dog, said Alcorn, who is also an Oak Ridge firefighter. [Read more…]

Deputy fire chief Waldo accepts job as fire chief in Bozeman, Mont.

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Josh Waldo at Graceland Fire April 2014

Oak Ridge Fire Department Deputy Chief Josh Waldo fights a fire at 120 Graceland on April 3, 2014. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

Josh Waldo, deputy chief of the Oak Ridge Fire Department, has accepted a job as chief of the Bozeman Fire Department in Montana.

Waldo’s first day on the new job will be August 24. His last day in Oak Ridge hasn’t been determined, but it could be in mid-August.

Bozeman has about 40,000 people, which is a little larger than Oak Ridge, but its fire department is smaller. The Bozeman Fire Department has three fire stations and roughly 50 personnel, including chiefs and inspectors, Waldo said Tuesday. That compares to four fire stations and about 70 personnel in Oak Ridge.

Waldo, 34, has been deputy fire chief in Oak Ridge for about 16 months. He was promoted from assistant chief to deputy chief in March 2014. He was promoted to assistant chief about 2.5 years earlier, in November 2011. [Read more…]

Fire destroys AC mobile home

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Sunday evening fire destroyed a mobile home on Cedar Grove Lane in Anderson County.

The fire was extinguished by crews from the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department with assistance from both the Clinton and Oak Ridge fire departments, and no injuries were reported.

The resident of the mobile home, Michelle Turnbill, told an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputy that she had grilled hot dogs on a small grill on the front porch. She said she checked it when she was done to make sure that the coals were out, and she told the deputy that it appeared to be cool to the touch. After going back inside, she heard what sounded like the grill turning over, and she looked out to see the indoor/outdoor carpet on the front porch ablaze.

She and her family made it out safely and called 911. She told investigators that there had been three dogs and a cat inside the home at the time of the fire, but the report does not indicate their fate.

Saturday morning fire damages Cove Lane home

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Cove Lane Fire

Photo by Tom Scott

 

A fire just after midnight Saturday caused heavy damage to a home on Cove Lane north of Oliver Springs.

The fire was reported at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, May 16, at 1014 Cove Lane, fire photographer Tom Scott said.

The home is in the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department area about 500 feet outside the Oliver Springs city limits, Scott said. [Read more…]

Marlow Fire Department has fundraising chili supper, dessert auction on Saturday

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Marlow Volunteer Fire Department

The Marlow Volunteer Fire Department will have a Community All-You-Can-Eat Chili Supper and Dessert Auction at Grand Oaks Elementary School on Saturday, March 21.

Chili, drinks, and hot dogs with all the trimmings will be served starting at 6 p.m.

Auctioneer Bear Stephenson will oversee the 7 p.m. auction of homemade desserts provided by Marlow volunteers, along with gift cards donated by local businesses. [Read more…]

Fires destroy vacant Marlow home, Medford storage building

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Information from WYSH Radio

A vacant home in the Marlow community was destroyed by a fire Monday afternoon.

The property owner told Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies and firefighters that the house at 143 Talley Lane had been vacant for eight years after a previous fire destroyed much of the structure. She said her son had been cleaning the property the previous day and had started a burn pile about 50 feet from the home to get rid of trash and wood from inside the building. [Read more…]