FRUITDALE — The cause of a fire that burned piles of a demolished home and some nearby trees on Sept. 25 remains under investigation.
Firefighters from the Fruitdale, Jackson and Brown County (Nashville) volunteer fire departments responded to the fire in the 6000 block of State Road 135 North at about 8 p.m. Sept. 25.
The address to which responders were dispatched is associated with Hydro Harvest LLC, a hydroponic strawberry farm that received permits to build a greenhouse earlier this year, according to online property records held by the county.
Jackson Fire Assistant Chief September McCabe said the piles of house debris were “not necessarily touching” and all of them were burning.
“Anytime you have a fire like that, you’re putting firefighters in danger,” she said.
“There was a lot of toxins that were in the fire because everything was there — insulation, roof tiles, rugs, I mean anything you can imagine that can cause toxins were definitely left in the piles.”
She said she was not aware of anyone living on the property.
Crews were on scene for at least three hours. No one was injured.
Fruitdale Volunteer Fire Department was the first department to be dispatched to the scene, but a representative from the department who had fought the fire could not be reached.
