On the Job: Tennessee – Arson Fire Destroys Morristown Strip Mall

Crews from Engine 1 exited just prior to flashover. Master streams are being used to confine the fire to Auto Zone. MORRISTOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT
Chief: William HoneycuttPersonneL: 78 career firefightersApparatus: Two engines, one aerial platform, three quints, two reserve engines, one reserve ladder truckPopulation: 24,965Area: 17 square miles An early-morning arson fire in Morristown, TN, on Feb. 26, 2004, destroyed a strip mall containing five businesses. The one-story, 31,075-square-foot, ordinary-construction-type structure was built in 1955. The five businesses were Morristown Dry Goods, 5,000 square feet; Dollar General, 6,000 square feet; Auto Zone, 15,000 square feet; Subway, 2,500 square feet; and Movie Depot, 1,972 square feet. The building was not sprinklered and only the Movie Depot had smoke detectors installed with a monitored alarm.

The Morristown Fire Department was dispatched to a reported structure fire at the South Cumberland Center strip mall, 415 South Cumberland St., at 5:09 A.M., after a police officer on patrol noticed smoke coming from the structure. Engines 1 and 2, both quints with 55-foot aerial ladders, Engine 3 and Truck 1, a 92-foot aerial platform, responded with 14 firefighters under the command of Battalion Chief Denny Holt.

Engine 1 arrived first on the scene followed by Truck 1. These units encountered heavy smoke conditions issuing from the Dollar General and Auto Zone stores. Engine 1 laid 500 feet of five-inch supply line from a hydrant at the corner of East Third and South Cumberland streets to a position in front of the Auto Zone store. Truck 1 laid 400 feet of five-inch hose from a hydrant at the corner of East Hill and Third streets to a position in front of the Dollar General store. Engine 2 laid 200 feet of five-inch line from a hydrant on South Hill Street to a position behind the strip mall.

Heavy fire involves the structure. Crews and apparatus have been repositioned as the fire extended the length of the common roof. South Hill Street’s elevation gave the firefighters a 15-foot height advantage over the roof of the building. Two 150-foot 1¾-inch pre-connects were advanced to the rear of the building for fire attack. Engine 3 was positioned in front of the Subway store and was supplied by two 150-foot three-inch lines from the five-inch manifold dropped by Engine 1.

Defensive operations were initiated on the Dollar General store upon arrival. Truck 1 was set up for water tower operations. Firefighters advanced one 200-foot 1¾-inch attack line and two 150-foot three-inch lines from Engine 1 to try to contain the fire to the Dollar General store. Morristown Dry Goods was the exposure on the left and Auto Zone was the exposure to the right.

Fire was already extending into the dry goods store, so no interior operations were attempted in that store. All efforts were made to contain the fire to those two stores and to prevent it from spreading to the Auto Zone. The crew from Engine 1 forced entry into the Auto Zone store and found light smoke conditions. Firefighters pulled the ceiling and found fire extending from the Dollar General store across the underneath of the common roof. Firefighters operated two 150-foot 1¾-inch lines from Engine 1 inside the store for about 15 minutes. Two 150-foot 1¾-inch pre-connects were advanced to the rear of the building for fire attack.

All hoselines operate from a distance into the structure. The crew from Truck 1 was on the roof attempting to ventilate over the Dollar General store. The crew reported that the roof was becoming unstable and exited it. At this time, conditions had deteriorated and Holt ordered the crews to evacuate the building. Three 150-foot 1¾-inch pre-connects were placed into operation from Engine 3 in an attempt to prevent the fire from spreading to the Subway store. As the fire continued to spread, the ladder pipe on Engine 2 was placed into operation.

Holt requested a second alarm at 5:30 A.M. Engine 4 responded to the scene and was staged in the parking lot. The four-man crew from this engine was assigned to firefighting operations. As the fire consumed the Auto Zone store and continued to spread to the other two stores, Engine 2’s ladder pipe and handlines were used to protect the Food City exposure 75 feet away and six homes located behind the rear of the mall. Eventually, Engine 1 and Truck 1 were repositioned to the D-A corner of the mall.

The roof and facade collapse in front of the Auto Zone store at 7 A.M. Holt requested a third alarm at 6:15, initiating the recall of 34 off-duty personnel. These firefighters operated at the scene, provided relief manpower and placed reserve apparatus in service. At 6:30, Fire Chief William Honeycutt requested mutual aid from four volunteer fire departments. North Hamblen, South Hamblen, East Hamblen and West Hamblen each responded with one pumper and manpower to fill in at Morristown fire stations.

Honeycutt declared the fire under control at 9 A.M. Mutual aid departments were released at 11:30 A.M. Sixty firefighters operated two pumpers; two quints and one aerial platform while battling the fire. A 14-foot combination ladder and a high-rise pack were destroyed when the roof on the Auto Zone store collapsed. No injuries were reported.

An elevated master stream is directed on the fire from a 55-foot aerial ladder. The single-story strip mall, which was constructed in 1955, housed five retail businesses at the time of the fire. At the time the fire was reported, the temperature was 38 degrees with rain and winds of 20 to 25 mph, with gusts to 35 mph. The temperature dropped to 31 degrees and four inches of snow accumulated during firefighting operations.

A four-day investigation by the Morristown Fire Department, Morristown Police Department, Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Special Operations Response Team (SORT) and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) determined that the fire was arson. The fire was started in the Dollar General store. The materials used was not been released to the public. Damage was estimated at $4 million.

Jay K. Bradish/IFPA, Firehouse® news editor, is a former captain in the Bradford Township, PA, Fire Department. He has been a volunteer firefighter and fire photographer for more than 25 years.