Fire guts house after homeowner tries to thaw frozen pipes with a torch

By: TriCities Staff | TriCities.com
Published: January 09, 2010

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. – Fire gutted half a house at 1529 State Route 75 on Friday, after the homeowner tried to thaw frozen pipes with a torch.

The home, just behind Trinity Church of the Brethren, caught fire about 9 p.m. The half a dozen people inside got out safely, and firefighters extinguished the blaze in about 5 minutes.

Sullivan County Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Eric Wilson said one side of the home was “completely gutted” while the other half suffered minor smoke and water damage.

The family was devastated.

“I was a little baby in this house,” said William Schultz, who lived in the home with his father and siblings. “My dad was a little baby in this house. We all were little babies in this house.”

Schultz said the family was alerted by the smoke detector.

The Sullivan County, Avoca and Warriors Path volunteer fire departments, along with Sullivan County EMS, responded to the fire.

Wilson said it’s been a busy week. Friday’s blaze was the third house fire his department has put out, and two of them were related to snow and cold.