A small fire broke out in a doctor’s office on the third floor of Blount Memorial Hospital’s Physicians Office Building Wednesday.
There were no injuries, but the building was evacuated for approximately 90 minutes.
The fire began around 11:30 a.m. when a radiator lit up a nearby chair. The fire spread to the wall, but was put out by the sprinkler system before the Maryville Fire Department arrived.
Still, there was considerable smoke, Deputy Chief Mike Caylor said.
Because the room’s windows would not open, fans were used to blow the smoke into the building’s main atrium, where it was exhausted by the ventilation system there.
Firefighters monitored carbon monoxide levels throughout the hospital but found minimal readings.
“The hospital did a good job making sure we could get people out of harm’s way,” Caylor said.
Hospital spokesman Josh West emailed The Daily Times that the physician offices in the building have been closed to begin cleanup. Some patients who had appointments were rerouted to different offices, while others were rescheduled.
“We apologize to our patients who were inconvenienced,” West wrote. “While this incident was unfortunate, we’re grateful no one was injured. We also extend our sincere appreciation to the Maryville Fire Department, and Maryville Police Department, both of which responded immediately to help ensure the safety of our patients, visitors and staff.”
The Spring Hill Fire Department responded to a fire outbreak at Discount Tire on Main Street Saturday night, which both Spring Hill firefighters and members of the Williamson County Rescue Squad successfully extinguished within a few hours.
“We get the call a little bit after 8 (p.m.), and when we arrive, sprinkler heads are already activated, and we’ve got a heavy fire in the tires and smoke coming out of the roof,” said Spring Hill Fire Chief Terry Hood. “Where the sprinkler wasn’t putting the fire out, we had active fire between some tires. We spent about two to three hours getting it under control.”
According to Hood, the source of the fire has been determined to be a heat gun that was near some cardboard boxes. A heat gun is sometimes used in the tire installation process, specifically for the installation of wheel weights. “By the rack of tires we found the trash can, and there’s no other possible cause of ignition there,” Hood said. “When the fire attacked the cord [of the heat gun], it melted away, which caused the wires to short [circuit].”
Hood said the performance of both his firefighters and the Williamson County Rescue Squad was “excellent,” especially considering the dangers tire fires can bring. Tire fires are difficult to extinguish, and release dark smoke that contains dangerous chemicals such as cyanide and sulfur dioxide.
The Discount Tire closed at 6 p.m. on Saturday, and the manager reportedly left the business at around 7 p.m., with Spring Hill Fire receiving a call about smoke roughly an hour afterwards. The manager at the Spring Hill Discount Tire, Joe Stevens, said he immediately returned to the business after hearing reports of a fire, and feared the worst. “Honestly, I thought the whole thing burned down,” Stevens said. “When I pulled in, there were already fire trucks here and police officers, thank god they were here. I honestly thought the whole building was going to be down.” The Discount Tire is temporarily closed, but will be reopened “within a few days,” according to staff.
Reporting on lives and property saved by fire sprinklers
