TNJN/Baird, James
Three people were transported to UT Medical Center by ambulance as a result of the fire.
published: January 28 2008 03:58 PM
updated:: January 29 2008 01:03 PM
Monday at approximately 1:45 p.m., a fire broke out on the fifth floor of Humes Hall, leaving residents in Presidential Court waiting for the smoke to subside.
When the Knoxville Fire Department arrived on the scene, heavy smoke was billowing from the all female dormitory building.
As time passed, it became apparent that the fire started when a chair in a fifth floor lounge caught fire, though a spokesman from KFD said they are not sure what initially sparked the flame.Two staff members and a resident's assistant were transported by ambulance to UT Medical Center and treated for smoke inhalation.
According to KFD, their injuries are not thought to be serious and they were hospitalized only as a precautionary measure.
No students were allowed in Humes until 3:30 p.m. and fifth floor residents were allowed back in their rooms by Monday night.
Updates will be made as information becomes available.
Comments
h20 commented, on January 28, 2008 at 4:28 p.m.:
i find it hard to believe that hundreds of gallons of water were used to douse this fire. . wouldn't that cause major water damage to the dorm? from what i have read on other local news sites (wbir.com, etc.) the fire had already been extinguished with fire extinguishers by the time KFD arrived and there was only smoke in the building.
Also, why include information about what firefighters speculated the cause of the fire to be when it turns out that had nothing to do with it? that was kind of confusing.
Sam commented, on January 28, 2008 at 5:14 p.m.:
I watched them spray water. And a firefighter came out and told a crowd it was a medium fire started by a grill or something......
jkb commented, on January 28, 2008 at 6:13 p.m.:
Did you say that the fire dept. sprayed hundreds of gallons of water on the fire? All I read was that the fire dept. arrived and that's logical since smoke was pouring out the 5th floor windows. I don't get what is confusing about that. Also, James, since you took the pictures too I assume you were an eyewitness and that you have your facts straight.
h20 commented, on January 28, 2008 at 6:44 p.m.:
the fact about the water is in the caption of first picture in the "story images" box.
h20 commented, on January 28, 2008 at 6:44 p.m.:
also, the story has been edited since i posted the first comment
jkb commented, on January 28, 2008 at 10:49 p.m.:
Yes, there is a picture of water coming out of the fire hose. I believe it is common for firemen to use water if I'm not mistaken.
Jonathan commented, on January 28, 2008 at 11:12 p.m.:
Of course the story changed. It says "Updates will be made as information becomes available." Learn to read you illiterate f*#k.
h20 commented, on January 29, 2008 at 10:11 a.m.:
i'm quite aware that updates were going to be made. i was just commenting on the fact that after i pointed out a few factual errors in the story, they were removed.
Sam commented, on January 29, 2008 at 1:01 p.m.:
I write freelance for a local paper from time to time and stopped to take pictures when a younger KFD fire fighter came over to me and some other reporters and informally told us what he thought happened, hence the "factual errors" that were reported early on.
"H20" get over yourself and realize that breaking news is never going to be perfect, if you wait until after every piece of information is confirmed and verified...it's not news anymore.