A small fire in a commercial dryer early this morning at the Hampton Inn hotel on Interstate Drive kept the Cookeville Fire Department busy. The call came in around 6:40 a.m., and fire crews were on the scene until after 9 a.m., Lt. Benton Young said.
“At about the same time we got the call, a Cookeville police officer who was refueling at a gas station nearby on Jefferson Avenue noticed smoke coming from the hotel and responded to the location as well,” Lt. Young said.
When firefighters arrived on the scene, he said, smoke could be seen coming out the front lobby doors, all the way from the laundry room located farther back inside the building. Guests of the hotel were evacuated while firefighters assessed and responded to the situation.
“There was a lot of smoke. We had to use thermal cameras in the laundry room just to see to get to the source,” he said.
That source proved to be only one commercial dryer that appeared to have several mop heads drying inside it, firefighters reported.
The hotel’s sprinkler system activated when the dryer fire began to smoke, and the blaze was contained to that appliance.
After firefighters arrived, they worked quickly to extinguish the blaze.
“We didn’t have to put a whole lot of water on it to put it out, maybe 15 or 20 gallons,” Lt. Young said.
The tasks that followed, however, included resetting the fire alarm system, getting the abundance of smoke dissipated from the building and verifying that all of the hotel occupants were evacuated and accounted for. All four Cookeville stations responded to the scene.
No one was reported injured in the incident. Capt. Matt White said he expected the business to reopen later this morning following the incident.
Emergency crews evacuated a Nashville retirement home early Monday after a resident reportedly fell asleep while smoking and caught a chair on fire, a fire spokesman said. Fire crews responded about 1:15 a.m. to Trevecca Towers at 60 Lester Ave. for a report of smoke at the 16-story building, Nashville Fire Department spokesman Brian Haas said.
Arriving crews evacuated the tower and found several pieces of furniture on fire in a room on the second floor, Haas said. The building’s sprinklers put the fire out shortly after crews arrived, Haas said.
“We have a lot of residents whose families are concerned,” said Tyler Jones, the building’s manager. “Thankfully, the sprinkler system worked as designed, so we’re grateful no one was hurt.”
Nearly two dozen residents were displaced, Haas said, but some of them were able to be housed at vacant units in the same building. The American Red Cross was called in to contact families of the other displaced residents to find temporary homes until their units are repaired. The nonprofit agency also provided cots for a few other displaced residents.
Although the facility may also have to put some displaced residents in hotel rooms, Jones said he wants to assure families that the residents will be taken care of.
Three area fire departments responded to Rockford Manufacturing Co. Friday morning to battle a blaze at the plant. The cause of the fire, which was contained to one building, is under investigation, firefighters said. No one was injured.
The Blount County Fire Department responded to the plant, located at 3901 Little River Road, Rockford, at 10 a.m. The Alcoa and Maryville fire departments later responded to assist. Blount County Fire Lt. Johnny Leatherwood said the fire started in the basement of a large building toward the back of the plant. Firefighters arrived to find several large metal hoppers, or storage containers, on fire. Technically, it was the material that was inside the hoppers that was burning, Leatherwood said.
“I’m not sure what they had in these hoppers; it just looked like dust to us,” Leatherwood said. The hoppers were located in the basement of the building, and the fire ended up spreading to the upper floor, where it burned inside a wooden cabinet.
While the fire was contained to that cabinet on the second floor, Leatherwood said, there was still heavy smoke. “Of course we had smoke all up in the second floor, and then they had quite a bit of water damage,” Leatherwood said.
Several other items were being stored in the basement where the fire started, and were covered in water when the sprinkler system went off, Leatherwood said. The Blount County Fire Department had about 19 firefighters on scene. The Alcoa Fire Department sent seven firefighters, and the Maryville Fire Department sent five.
The Blount County Rescue Squad provided water and food for firefighters as they battled the blaze. Rural/Metro Ambulance Service was also on scene. Leatherwood said the fire was under control by around noon, though it wasn’t completely out until around 2 p.m.
Firefighters cleared the plant at 3:35 p.m. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. The Rockford Manufacturing Co. issued a statement thanking the quick response from fire, police and other emergency services.
“There was a fire today at Rockford Manufacturing Co.,” the statement read. “Thankfully, no one was injured. We wish to express our appreciation for the quick and professional responses by the Blount County Fire Department and the Blount County Sheriff’s Office. We also want to thank Rural/Metro Ambulance for arriving as a precaution, although no treatment or hospital transport was required. We also appreciate Maryville Fire Department, Alcoa Fire Department, and the Blount County Rescue Squad for responding under mutual aid agreements.”
Leatherwood said the fire apparently won’t keep the plant closed past this weekend. “They said they hope to be back up and running by Monday,” Leatherwood said.
Reporting on lives and property saved by fire sprinklers
