March 21--Someone intentionally started the fire that damaged a Chapman Highway building that housed two businesses, authorities said.
"It was started in the back portion of the tattoo shop," Knoxville Fire Department spokesman Capt. D.J. Corcoran said.
A passing motorist at 11:51 p.m. March 4 reported flames at the Second Generation Tattoo and the Savway Tobacco in a single-story building located at 6017 and 6019 Chapman Highway. Firefighters arrived three minutes later to find flames shooting from the tattoo shop side of the structure, records show.
Firefighters were on the scene until 2:39 a.m. and blocked Chapman Highway with fire hoses stretched across the roadway to hydrants. No injuries were reported.
Fire personnel estimated $580,508 worth of damage was done to the 4,800-square-foot building. Before the fire, the building was valued at $1,161,000, records state. The blaze damaged $290,254 worth of items in the building.
Records show firefighters were challenged in dousing the flames by multiple ceilings in the building and its two roofs.
Fire Department Fire Investigator Travis Kincaid conducted a probe into the cause of the blaze and sent samples from the scene to a laboratory for tests. Those tests, Corcoran said, revealed an accelerant was used to start the fire.
No arrests have been made but Kincaid's investigation is continuing.
Copyright 2013 - The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.
