KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville Fire crews are investigating Monday after responding to a second structure fire at the Standard Knitting Mill Building Sunday. The first fire had happened earlier that morning at around 10:50 a.m.
Fire investigators and city officials will spend Monday looking into the burned ruins of the old Standard Knitting Mill building, following Sunday's double fire.
On Monday morning, the fire department finished suppression operations at the site south of Washington Avenue east of downtown, according to Knoxville Fire Department spokesman Brent Seymour. The complex has been empty for years.
"Different personnel from the Fire Department and the city will be on the site at various times today doing assessments and planning," Seymour said in a statement Monday morning.
KFD's Fire Investigation Unit is looking into the cause and circumstances that led to Sunday's blaze, the second to break out on the property during the day.
"Due to the instability of the building, access will be limited for the investigation team," Seymour's statement reads.
KFD on Sunday responded to reports of heavy smoke and flames coming from the building.
KFD had shared multiple photos of the fire on their Twitter as crews continued to control the fire.
According to Knoxville Fire Chief Stan Sharp, crews were able to contain the fire by Sunday night.
"It's now fully contained, it's not spreading," he said. "We will continue until the fire is put out, but our focus is also just keeping our folks safe the rest of the night.
No injuries were reported in the fire.
KFD crews checked the building for hot spots and extinguished fires in areas of collapse. Crews remained overnight to control pockets of fire.
Sharp said the fire was likely started by accident by people who were living in the vacant building.
"We have had incidents in here before, and you fence it off, you secure it as best as you can… yet people still get in," Sharp said.
KFD responded to a fire at the building earlier Sunday around 10:50 a.m., saying people were seen running from the building. Crews found what appeared to be a piece of furniture on fire, and quickly extinguished it.
KFD's Fire Investigation Unit and the Knoxville Police Department arrested three people in the first fire.
The Standard Knitting Mill was founded in 1900 with 50 employees. By the 1930s, Standard was the largest textile and knitting mill in Knoxville and employed over 4,000 Knoxvillians. While Knoxville was known widely as "The Marble City" for its marble quarries, the Standard Knitting Mill helped give Knoxville another moniker: "The Underwear Capital of the World."
The building was the home of Delta Apparel until 2007. Since then, it was bought by a developer in South Carolina, WRS Inc. Real Estate Investments, in 2019.
Kevin Rogers, the company's executive vice president, said they still have plans to redevelop the property, but those plans will depend on the extent of damage caused by the fire.
"Determining the extent of damage may take some time and depending on that extent, it may or may not alter the manner in which we hope to redevelop the property," he said. "We’re heartened to hear that no lives were lost in the fire and immensely grateful for the professionalism and prompt action of the Knoxville Fire Department and the Knoxville Police Department."
Rogers said the company has plans for the historic building that it hopes would maintain as much of its character as possible, saying they hope to make an announcement about their vision for it in the coming months.
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon also expressed her thanks to KFD for containing the fire.