Officials investigate Thursday house fire

HARDIN COUNTY, Tenn. — A Thursday house fire sparked an investigation Friday morning.

“We had flames coming from the front of the house and the side of the house,” said Hardin County Fire Chief Melvin Martin. “It was about 50% involved. There was nobody home; the owner just left about an hour before.”

Just after 6 p.m. on Thursday, crews from the Hardin County Fire Department responded to a home on Paulk Drive, about five miles south of Savannah.

Martin says the homeowner’s dog was inside and died in the fire.

Officials returned to the home Friday morning to look for the cause of what is being investigated as an accidental fire.

“It looks to be some type of electrical short near the entertainment center, so that’s what we were looking at this morning,” Martin said.

Martin says there was also a space heater nearby.

“Be very careful with space heaters. Avoid using them if you can, and never use an extension cord with a space heater,” Martin said.

Martin says there were smoke alarms in the home, but they were not working at the time of the fire.

“If you need smoke alarms, we offer free ones, and most of the departments around West Tennessee also offer free smoke alarms. Contact your local fire department if you need one,” Martin said.

Although the fire was tragic, not all was lost.

“There’s some belongings that are safe. The back two rooms didn’t have any fire in them because the doors were closed,” Martin said.

Martin advises closing the doors, especially at night when you’re asleep, to prevent fire from spreading to rooms where it didn’t start.

If you live in Hardin County and need a smoke alarm, call the Hardin County Fire Department at (731) 925-6178.