GALLERY: Safety measure saves church from fire in Gibson County
GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A local church caught fire, but one interesting safety measure saved it from total destruction.
Friday around noon, the Gibson County Fire Department responded to a call that Gibson Wells Methodist Church was on fire.
Fire officials say the fire began after a faulty wire that was connected to a heater shorted out.
The fire was contained to only two rooms due to an interesting detail. The door to both rooms were closed.
The fire burned for a considerable time period, but the building only received minor damage.
Chief Bryan Cathey says that closing doors in your home can drastically decrease the oxygen to the flames, which can contain its spread for a longer time.
“If you keep all your doors closed to your rooms, it limits the damage when you do have a fire because even this door was what I call a paper thin door. It lasted probably 40 to 45 minutes with a fire behind it,” Cathey said.
The state of Tennessee has a campaign called Close the Door, which advocates for closing your doors during fire emergencies.
A link to the campaign website can be found here.
Find more news out of Gibson County here.
