BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Crews with Blount County Fire Department battled the blaze at Green Acres Flea Market into Sunday, that they initially responded to the area just before 8 p.m. Saturday night.
Captain Butch Campbell responded to the fire and said they were able to get it under control around 10 a.m. Sunday. When he arrived at the flea market Saturday, Campbell said the outer buildings had caught fire.
“There’s multiple buildings outside the main building. The fire was on those buildings when we first arrived and the fire had spread to the buildings right up against the main buildings,” Campbell said.
There are no known injuries, but the cause of the fire is still under investigation. Campbell said departments worked together to avoid any injuries to the public.
“The Alcoa Police Department, the Blount County Sheriff’s Department did a great job trying to keep people out of the area, and keep them away and keep them safe,” Campbell said.
Vendors at the flea market, like Pat Hatcher, tried to save some of their items from the fire.
“My heart is breaking, my heart is breaking. All of these people have already lost their stuff, this man right here we know him well. All his stuff is gone,” Hatcher said during the fire.
Campbell says 22 firefighters from the Blount County Fire Department responded to the scene, and initially sent a crew inside the main building.
“Once we realized we had fire in between the ceiling and the attic, and it was unsafe and dangerous for us to be inside, we backed our crew out,” he said.
Crews then focused on stopping the fire from spreading to other buildings.
“We set up two ladder trucks and we were flowing three monitors to the main building to keep it corralled. A lot of water was used to keep everything safe and to keep it from spreading to the outside exposures,” he said.
The fire department was still monitoring some hot spots as of Sunday afternoon. The Blount County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the cause of the fire.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.
