BRUCETON, Tenn. — On Friday morning, April 10, Bruceton resident Lillie Edwards awoke just after 3 a.m. to a bright orange glow shining through the front windows of her home. When she peered through the curtains, she saw the house across the street fully engulfed in flames.
Edwards was one of several neighbors who called 911.
Neighbors on and around N. Carroll St. were already on edge, after the shed behind the home had caught fire on Thursday afternoon, just 12 hours prior.
Bruceton Fire Chief James Sloan said that the shed fire had everyone perplexed. There was no electricity going to it, or, to anyone’s knowledge, anything inside that could have started the fire.
While the shed was fully engulfed, the fire spread to the neighboring shed, belonging to Chris House. House said that they lost several personal items to the ordeal.
Bruceton and Hollow Rock Fire Departments extinguished the shed fire Thursday afternoon.
On Friday morning, firefighters from Bruceton, Hollow Rock, Buena Vista, Mixie, and Huntingdon worked to extinguish the house fire.
Firefighters set up a water curtain between the burning home and an RV parked in House’s driveway. They saved it from going up in flames.
Fred Lawton, owner of the burned home, said no one was living there. He had just recently put a new roof on the house, and had plans to remodel the home to either rent out or sell.
Now, the home sits in ruin. A flyer hangs on the mailbox with information on how to contact the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s (TBI) Arson unit.
TBI is investigating the cause of both fires. Investigators were at the scene Monday morning.
TBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Tips can be submitted by calling TBI’s arson hotline at 1-800-762-3017.
