Sunday morning fire severely damages Louisville home
By J.J. Kindred | (jj.kindred@thedailytimes.com)
A structure fire severely damaged a home at 3257 Louisville Road in Louisville early Sunday morning.
According to Blount County Fire Chief Doug McClanahan, the call of the fire came in at approximately 10 a.m.
The Blount County Fire Department’s Louisville station got a call that black smoke and heavy flames could be seen from the home’s front porch, as well as the roof. One of the occupants, identified as Steve Holcomb, said he was cooking in the kitchen, and he briefly left.
A short time later, Holcomb said he saw heavy smoke coming from the kitchen area. He managed to escape but suffered slight burns when he allegedly tried to look for his dogs.
Nine Blount County fire trucks, as well as two Friendsville fire trucks were on the scene to combat the fire, with the manpower totaling about 26 people. The fire took approximately one hour to control, McClanahan said. One dog had perished, and it could not be confirmed if another dog escaped or also perished in the fire.
Firefighters said Holcomb had health issues and the other occupant, identified as Tony Webb, helped take care of Holcomb. Webb was not home when the fire broke out.
The fire was very hard to fight because of ongoing additions to the house, according to McClanahan.
“It appeared to have different roof lines added on,” he said. “It was difficult to get to the second story attic to get the fire out. It was a pretty hot fire.
“(Holcomb) got out safe, and that made my day,” McClanahan said. “The home has considerable damage.”
Bill Streator, of Beulah Drive in Louisville, told The Daily Times Sunday afternoon that he, his son and two other people were on their way to church when they saw flames.
“I happened to look and I saw a little flame,” Streator said. “I thought someone was burning some wood, and we kept going on. I said, ‘That don’t look right,’ and turned around and the home was fully evolved.
“I pulled into the people’s driveway and me and my son went in the back, and the guy was just coming out,” Streator continued. “He said he fell asleep and was cooking chicken or something. I called 911. I stayed until it was almost over.”
Streator, a former volunteer with the New York City Fire Department, said the experience brought back some memories.
“With anything like that around this time of season, I feared for the guy’s life,” Streator said. “I dealt with stuff like that where I was previously from.”
The investigation is continuing.
Daily Times reporter Rheta Murry contributed to this story.
