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An investigation into the cause of a fire that destroyed a Carter County restaurant last week has been determined to be electrical in nature.
On Thursday, June 8, the Carter County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation began investigating the cause of a fire that occurred at Southern Craft BBQ, located at 2340 Highway 321 in Hampton.
“Based on evidence gathered at the scene, the fire started inside the building and was found to be the result of an electrical failure, according to investigators with both the TBI and the Sheriff’s Office,” Carter County Sheriff Mike Fraley said.
The investigation into the fire began when a man driving by the restaurant around 5:15 a.m. noticed the building was on fire and called 911.
Firefighters from departments across Northeast Tennessee responded to the call to assist Carter County’s firefighters in battling the blaze.
“Our Carter County volunteer fire departments fought hard to stop this fire and they were assisted in their efforts by many other agencies,” Sheriff Fraley said. “We truly appreciated all of the help we received from our neighboring communities
and agencies in responding to the fire at Southern Craft.”
In addition to all seven of Carter County’s Volunteer Fire Departments, additional first responders came from Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties. Firefighters from the Johnson City Fire Department and Piney Flats Volunteer Fire Departments also responded, bringing ladder trucks from their respective agencies.
The restaurant was a total loss, but firefighters were able to keep the blaze from spreading to other nearby structures or the forest area around the restaurant.