The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a Saturday morning fire in White County that displaced a vacationing family of ten.
According to White County Public Safety Director David Murphy, firefighters were dispatched around 10:30 a.m. on June 19 to a smoke investigation in the area of Little Bear Court and Gold Flume Way. When they arrived, they found a rental cabin on Little Bear Court engulfed in flames.
Cleveland Fire was dispatched on mutual aid. Firefighters had to shuttle water to the scene. They stayed on site for approximately five hours controlling the blaze to keep it from spreading.
The cabin was a total loss but, fortunately, no injuries were reported. The American Red Cross was called to assist the family, which was visiting from Florida.
This is the second time in recent months vacationers have been burned out of a rental cabin in White County. In March, a treehouse (also called a pedestal house) caught fire. Murphy said at the time it appeared to have started in the fireplace.
That fire prompted commissioners to adopt a change to the current building code requiring pedestal houses to have two exits.
