HAMBLEN TWP. — Arson is suspected to be the cause of a fire that destroyed a home on Ed Harsh Road early Sunday morning.
The garage behind the home had been broken into, said Hamblen Township Volunteer Fire Department Chief Arlan Pierce. There were other “telling” factors that could not be released at this time because of the investigation, he said.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Jimmy Green was the first to arrive and reported that the home was fully engulfed, Pierce said. The fire was reported just before 7 a.m.
The home was a total loss. The garage door was found lying in the driveway when police and firefighters arrived.
“It’s one of those big barn sliding doors made out of wood versus the metal. They really didn’t get anything in there per se, because the owner said there were only two items taken. The rest of the garage was empty. They must have thought there was a bunch more in there to begin with,” Pierce said of the person who broke in.
Pierce said the fire had probably been going for a while before Green was notified.
“From what I understand, the neighbor to the northwest happened to get a whiff of smoke and looked out then all he saw was flames through the trees,” he said.
The home was shared by a family as a getaway home. The owner lives outside the county, Pierce said.
Hamblen Fire’s arson investigator, William Reel, will work with the homeowner’s insurance company and the sheriff’s department in the investigation.
Cordry-Sweetwater, Brown County (Nashville) and Nineveh Township volunteer fire departments assisted at the scene.
Pierce said the home was almost at the end of Ed Harsh Road, so getting the fire trucks out to get water was a challenge.
“We were probably backing a good quarter of a mile to get a turn-around to go back and get more water,” he said.
No injuries were reported.
