July 19, 2024 – Nashville Fire Department (NFD) Fire Investigators closed the investigation of two separate apartment fires from earlier this week. The determinations are the fires were accidental, caused by smoking.
Metro DEC Dispatchers sent NFD crews to 225 Ellington Place on Sunday, July 14th around 3pm. Fire crews arrived at a multi-dwelling residential complex with smoke and flames coming from a deck. They worked to quickly establish a water supply and extinguish the fire, while NFD medics checked on residents and pets from the six units who evacuated their homes during the incident. All residents from all were able to exit safely.
Similarly, NFD crews were dispatched to 512 Old Hickory Blvd on Tuesday, July 16th just before 1:30am. A 24-unit building had one balcony completely engulfed in flames and smoke with fire spreading quickly. Fire crews worked to contain the fire and prevent it from traveling throughout the entire building. While executing a search to ensure residents were accounted for, one side of the three-story building collapsed in on itself. The fire was extinguished, and all residents were able to exit safely.
Both apartment fires were upgraded to second alarm fire responses, increasing resources of fire equipment and personnel to combat the fires, rotate crews through safety protocols, and appropriately attend to occupants.
There were no injuries reported in either incident, though NFD medics checked out several residents on the scene as precautions.
Residents in all apartments, six units from Ellington Place and 24 units from Old Hickory Blvd, were impacted and displaced. Property Management at each, along with the Red Cross, worked to find housing options for each person, though many of them will be starting fresh.
NFD Investigators have determined the cause of these fires to be smoking.
For many years, smoking has been a lead cause of residential fire deaths- due to unattended or improperly discarded smoking material.
The Nashville Fire Department is advising those who use cigarettes to ensure they are fully extinguished prior to leaving the cigarette unattended. Never discard a cigarette in plants, brush, or debris. Do not smoke in bed, and please do not smoke near (and especially while using) oxygen.
It is vitally important that the necessary precautions are taken to stop fires and avoid damages that occur because of something that is preventable.
The U.S. Fire Administration shows in 2022 there were 8,600 residential building fires caused specifically by smoking, resulting in 295 deaths, 700 injuries, and $525,700,000 in dollar loss damages.
Source: Nashville Fire Department
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