The Knoxville Fire Department was paged out to a residential structure fire at 605 East Competine in Knoxville at 11:19 a.m. The call informed dispatch that the enclosed porch on the back of the house was on fire.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but the enclosed porch had a charcoal grill, discarded smoking material and lighter fluid for the charcoal grill. The discarded smoking material was a bucket of cigarette butts and an overflowing ash tray of cigarette butts.
Fire Chief Jim Mitchell thinks the fire might have started from a smoldering cigarette butt that might have been knocked over with an ash tray.
“There was also a report of a small explosion. We think it was the [charcoal] lighter fluid can and it got hot enough that it exploded,” Mitchell said. “When it exploded I'm sure it sprayed all that fuel all over, and the whole back porch was on fire.”
The property owner and her sister were living in the house with a pet cat. No one was harmed in the fire.
The pet cat was found lifeless. Fire and rescue put the cat on a pet oxygen application device. Within two to three minutes, the cat started to meow loudly, Mitchell said. Marion County Sheriff Jason Sandholdt transported the owner and the cat to the vet, who later reported their confidence that the cat will be fine.