Day after a fire at the Carvers of the Smokies in Pigeon Forge. 6/23/12
Day after a fire at the Carvers of the Smokies in Pigeon Forge. 6/23/12
Day after a fire at the Carvers of the Smokies in Pigeon Forge. 6/23/12
According to Johnny Watkins, who owns the wood carving business Carvers of the Smokies, an employee who was injured in an overnight fire at the site was released from the hospital on Sunday afternoon.
Previous story
The owner of the wood carving business Carvers of the Smokies tells 10News one of his employees was injured in an overnight fire on Wears Valley Road in Pigeon Forge.
According to Pigeon Forge Fire Department Chief Tony Watson, the man was sleeping at the business that also serves as a home when smoke and a loud noise woke him around 2:00 a.m.
Chief Watson says the man was burned while he tried to put out the flames.
Fire and rescue crews arrived at the 2,000 sq ft. building to find it and the 12 foot high piles of wood surrounding it in flames.
The man was taken by helicopter to UT Medical Center. Chief Watson said the fire victim is in stable condition.
Johnny Watkins who owns the business says the injured man worked for him.
He told 10News he believes the fire may have caused anywhere from three to four-hundred thousand dollars worth of damages.
"It's my whole livelihood, everything I have," Watkins said.
He said he would like to open another store one day elsewhere in Pigeon Forge. Watkins said there are not a lot of business that provide the product his did.
"Where are you going to go and pull in and say 'carve me a door' with anything you want on it?," he said. "I mean, you lost that kind of stuff."
The fire was so intense, it melted the siding of a building 50 feet away.
Fire crews including Walden's Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Sevier County Fire Department, and Catons Chapel Volunteer Fire Department helped the Pigeon Forge fire fighters get the fire under control within 45 minutes.
Chief Watson says due to the fire, the city had to bring in a track hoe to deal with the remaining wood.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.