A South East Fire District House Fire Results in a Fatality

On Tuesday, April 15^th, Lawrence County Fire Rescue units were sent to a local fire alarm activation at 27 Dobbins Road in the South East Fire District just after 2:00 PM by Lawrence County E-911. A few minutes later, dispatch informed the responding units that they had received a second report from an individual on the site verifying that the house was completely engulfed in flames and that nearby family members were trying to save a bedridden patient who was trapped inside the house. A completely involved wind-driven fire in a roughly 3,000 square foot split-level house was confirmed by the first responding units. Additionally, units verified that three cars were burning at the residence. While rescue efforts were underway, the staff used master streams and hand-lines to put out the fire. The victim was found by firefighters. Lawrence County Fire and Rescue emergency personnel express deep regret and confirm that the victim did not survive the fire. Additional resources were called to the scene to help with rescue and suppression efforts because of the lack of manpower and the absence of reliable fire hydrants in the region. LCFR units were handling a high priority medical emergency in the county and an injury-inflicted car crash at the same time during this occurrence. The staff collaborated with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on the scene to identify the cause and origin of the incident. The drone team from the Lawrenceburg Fire Department was also present to aid in the investigation. The TBI Criminal Investigation Division Fire Investigation Unit should be contacted with any questions or concerns regarding the fire investigation. From Radio7 Media, we send our condolences to the family and we thank each and every emergency personnel unit that responded to the scene.