Home in Central community destroyed by fire
Published 9:27 am Tuesday, February 3, 2015
The cause of a house fire in Central is still undetermined after firefighters investigated the scene multiple times Monday afternoon.
Firefighters from Central, Watauga and West Carter County volunteer fire departments responded to a fire at a single-wide trailer at 146 Spring Drive shortly after noon.
Fire spread quickly through the home and the building was fully engulfed by the time firefighters arrived on the scene. Smoke from the fire was visible for almost a mile.
Central Volunteer Fire Department Chief Neil Miller said the roof of the home had collapsed and most of the walls of the home had burned away, leaving only the frame standing by the time the first firefighter arrived on the scene.
“It was badly damaged by the time we arrived,” Miller said. “The house was mostly gone.”
Miller returned to the scene twice after the fire was extinguished but was unable to find a cause for the fire.
“The cause is still undetermined,” he said. “I was hoping to find something that could tell us what had happened, but it was too badly damaged.”
Neighbors who witnessed the fire said it looked like it had started in the back corner of the home, but Miller said that was could not be confirmed because of the extensive damage.
He said he had not been in contact with the resident and could not confirm who owned the home.
No one was home at the time of the fire and two pets escaped the blaze. Firefighters found a cat with singed fur in the yard, and neighbors rescued a dog from the house before firefighters arrived.
