Tanya Everett, who lives in the Five Point area of Maryville, said she and her son, Justin, were getting ready to take a shower about 9:30 a.m. when the fire alarm went off.
``I saw flames coming from the lamp and wall in the corner beside the couch,'' she said. ``I grabbed my purse and a little bag and fled, yelling `fire' and called 911.
``I lost almost all our clothes. I had just bought a lot of new stuff,'' she added. ``I'm hoping I can get compensated to replace some of my belongings.''
She added that there was some smoke when she first noticed the fire, but by the time she grabbed the baby ``there was lots of smoke. You couldn't see anything. It was total darkness ... black. The fire was spreading fast.''
``I've never lived through anything like this in my life, and I never want to experience it again. It was horrible,'' she said.
Everett and her husband, Jason Dillard, and other children Brandon, 5, Brandi, 8, and Michael, 9, had checked into the lodge Sunday with plans to stay two days vacationing.
On Monday morning, Dillard had gone to work and the three older children had been taken to school at John Sevier Elementary. Everett and the baby had just returned from town.
``We brought the kids up here to swim and have a good time,'' Everett explained. The family was staying in Room 152 of section four of the of the eight-section Valley View Lodge.
The unit where the fire began was gutted and some surrounding rooms sustained smoke damage. The section contains 12 units, which are separated in half by a fire wall.
About 20 people in section four of the 138-room complex were evacuated.
Betty Parker, who has worked for three years in maintenance at the lodge, said she was working on the indoor pool, when she heard the fire alarm go off and saw Everett run out screaming.
Parker said she ``called the office and told them to call the fire department. Then I started trying to get the people out. I went looking in the rooms trying to make sure all the people got out. Then the smoke got so bad I couldn't see in some of the rooms.''
The fire was called in to Townsend Volunteer Fire Department, which in turn requested help from Blount County Fire Department under their mutual aid agreement. Blount County Fire Chief Doug McClanahan them immediately requested six firefighters from Alcoa and Maryville to help fight the blaze.
Five of the 18 active members of the Townsend department responded with an engine, small fire truck that contains medical supplies, one pumper and one tanker trucks. Blount County brought 22 firefighters. Townsend fire dispatcher Sarah Herbert handled the radio traffic between the various firefighters.
``Thank God it was not a fire that occurred early in the morning when people might be sleeping there,'' Millsaps said.
He was also thankful that so many personnel responded to the morning fire, a time when many Townsend volunteers are at work.
``We had half of our 50-man department on the scene and covering the stations in town,'' McClanahan said.
They got the call at 9:32 a.m. and were on scene at 9:39 a.m.
``When we got on the scene there was heavy smoke showing and flames were coming from inside the unit,'' said Townsend firefighter Jeff Millsaps, who was the acting engineer on site. ``It was really dark and smoky.''
McClanahan said, ``We put hose lines in the door and knocked the flames down and searched the building. Some rooms were vacant and when we couldn't get anyone to the door, we broke in the doors. It took approximately 20 minutes to get the fire under control. The fire was contained to the building of origin.''
``We set up fans to reduce the smoke in the building for visibility and to keep down on damage,'' he added.
One woman, Betty Sue Odom, 51, of Taylor, Mich., on the second-floor near the burning suite in Room 256, got her children down with the help of some of the other guests and was slightly injured when she slipped on the rail trying to follow the children to the ground, said Townsend Police Chief Ronnie Suttles. Rural/Metro Ambulance Service took to Blount Memorial Hospital where she received treatment for minor injuries.
The first portion of the lodge, which is owned by Paul Maples, was built in 1984, according to Bonnie Lohr, manager of the Valley View Lodge. She has worked there for 18 years. This was the first fire the lodge has sustained, she said.
Blount County Sheriff's Office ruled the fire was accidental, having started in an electrical outlet in the bathroom wall area.
