OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (February 20, 2020) – On Friday February 14, at approximately 3:20 am, a 911 caller reported a Structure Fire at 102 Artesia Drive in Oak Ridge. Upon arrival, the Fire Department found heavy smoke and fire coming from the windows and eaves of the home. The fire crew entered through the front door and quickly extinguished the fire in the kitchen area.
The home was vacant and in foreclosure at the time of the fire and in possession of a Bank, but had a sale pending. However, the house appeared to have had serious structural damage prior to the fire with holes cut into the floors, which resulted in an injury to one of the Oak Ridge Firefighters. The firefighter was transported to Methodist Medical Center where he was treated and later released with non-life-threatening injuries.
The origin of the fire has been identified within the structure and the Oak Ridge Police, along with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, were called in to assist fire investigators in the investigation. If you have any information concerning this incident, please call Oak Ridge Police Department via non-emergency dispatch at (865) 425-4399.
The Oak Ridge Fire Department would like to remind everyone about the Tennessee Arson Hotline. Anyone with information about a suspicious and/or incendiary fire is encouraged to call the Tennessee Arson Hotline at 1-800-762-3017. The call and your identity is confidential and you could earn a cash award of up to $ 1,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person starting the fire.