(Smith County Insider Press) New Middleton, Tenn. – On Friday night, November 18, around 11:00 pm Smith County 911 received a call reporting flames coming from a wooded area around Fire Tower Road off of Pig Branch Road.
New Middleton Fire Department was dispatched to the scene. Upon arriving on scene, New Middleton Fire Fighters immediately called for backup because the fire was spreading rapidly through the woods.
Central District Fire Department and the Tennessee Forestry Department were also dispatched to the scene to assist with extinguishing the blaze.
The fire was extremely difficult to fight because the area was not easily accessible by vehicles. Firefighters had to pull hundreds of feet of hose into the woods to fight the blaze. The Forestry Department also assisted with a bulldozer.
It took over three hours to extinguish the blaze. The fire was allegedly started by an individual that accidentally dropped a cigarette butt on the ground.
