By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Springville, Tenn.–One person perished in an early morning fire in the apartments at the former Hilltop Lodge in Springville.
Henry County Sheriff Monte Belew said bystanders attempted to save the female victim from the fire, but were unsuccessful.
Investigators and firefighters were told there may be two victims in the structure, but Belew said, “One body was discovered inside the residence and through the efforts of Coroner Matthew McClure, firefighters, and Investigator Bryan Hall, we were able to rule out there being any other victims. And Bryan did make contact with the person thought to be the second victim later.”
The victim was transported by the Henry County Rescue Squad to Nashville for autopsy and positive identification, Belew said.
The structure was a total loss. Paris Landing Volunteer Fire Department Chief Reggie Coles said a space heater is the suspected cause of the fire.
The fire started at 4 a.m. Saturday at 5383 E. Antioch Rd., Springville, and Coles said arriving fire units found the structure 70 percent involved in fire.
Coles said bystanders told firefighters there were possibly two female subjects still inside the building. “Firefighting efforts were severely hampered due to multiple remodeling of the building with numerous roof layers found,” Coles said. !After the fire was brought under control search crews located the body of one female subject in one of the apartments. The body was sent for identification and an autopsy.”
Coles noted there were no smoke alarms in the structure.
Coles said firefighters and investigators stayed on the scene until around noon and the road was closed for several hours.
Belew said, “This is another tragedy for Henry County. We hate that we’ve had so many fires this year with fatalities. We would ask that people contact their fire departments if they need smoke alarms and we ask that families have fire protocols so everyone knows what to do in these situations. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim and her family.”
Damage is estimated at $100,000.00. Paris Landing had five trucks and 15 firefighters on the scene for eight hours. Puryear Fire Department also responded for mutual aid with 10 firefighters and one truck.
Photo by Reggie Coles.