Knoxville — UPDATE 11 AM TUESDAY
Two kids playing with a lighter are to blame for an apartment fire Monday that displaced eight people and killed a dog, according to investigators.
The preteen boys lived with two adults at the Southwood Apartments complex, said KFD Captain D.J. Corcoran, and admitted they set the couch on fire with the lighter.
The dog that was killed lived in that apartment with the boys who started the fire, Corcoran told 10News.
Corcoran said he believed the building would be a total loss. Three of the eight units in the building were occupied.
No charges are expected, but Corcoran said the two will be enrolled in a juvenile fire starter program which intervenes and hopefully prevents individuals from growing into serial arsonist.
UPDATE 5 PM MONDAY: The American Red Cross was assisting about eight residents displaced after fire broke out in a South Knoxville apartment building.
The fire occurred in the 2900 block of Sevier Avenue in a building of the Southwood Apartments complex, according to the Knoxville Fire Department.
"Arriving units found an eight-unit apartment building with flames coming from Apartment No. 3 in the center of the structure. The fire had quickly spread to the two flanking apartments and into the attic area above," according to a KFD notice. It is believed to be a total loss.
According to KFD Capt. D.J. Corcoran, the fire was reported by a neighbor who called 9-1-1 when she heard a woman screaming for help.
Corcoran said that phone call, and the fact that the fire station was in close proximity to the fire, allowed firefighters to get residents out safely.
"In situations like this, sometimes people get involved and they forget to call 9-1-1," Corcoran said. "They’re so wrapped up in the incident itself, they forget to call 9-1-1, so we’re forever grateful to the woman who called 9-1-1 for getting us started."
PREVIOUS STORY: The Knoxville Fire Department is battling a fire at an apartment complex on Sevier Avenue in South Knoxville.
The Southwood Apartments are located at the intersection with McClung Avenue and it appears to consist of two or three buildings with multiple units in each.
One of the buildings with several units was likely a total loss, according to KFD Capt. D.J. Corcoran. Photos from the scene showed flames shooting from the upper floors of that building as firefighters worked to extinguish them.
It appears that everyone got out safely and no one was hurt, but a dog found at the building was dead.
There's still no word on what caused the fire.