WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather, and Sports |Fire threatens Thanksgiving plans in south Nashville

Fire threatens Thanksgiving plans in south Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- It was a scary start to Thanksgiving Day for one south Nashville neighborhood, but it got a little better once some smoke and flames died down.

A fire at a vacant house enveloped the 200 block of Lutie Street in heavy smoke Thursday morning.

Crews kept the flames from spreading and they also kept Thanksgiving plans on track for one elderly woman.

Helen Newcome said she did not see the flames because she had been cooking all morning.

"I did not know it until someone knocked on the door," she said.

As crews rushed into the vacant house, Helen worried her next door home of 51-years would catch fire.

Plus, she had chicken and dumplings ready inside for Thanksgiving at her granddaughter's home in Gallatin.

"I hope they spray my house with water, so it won't catch it on fire," she said while watching with neighbors who led her out of the smoky area near the vacant home.

Newcome was not too happy with the Metro Codes Department because she said previous complaints about the vacant house next door had been ignored.

"It's been abandoned for a long time, and in May, it was set on fire, and we can't get codes to do anything about it," she said.

But Thursday, Newcome was thankful that she had already finished making the chicken and dumplings before the fire started next door.

She was even more thankful that she was not injured and that she could still celebrate Thanksgiving at her granddaughters.

The fire department has not indicated a cause for the fire, but neighbors say homeless people have sometimes sought shelter there.

The fire is under investigation.