MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -
Fire officials say a cigarette is to blame for a fire that destroyed a two-story home in Rutherford County Tuesday morning.
The blaze broke out around 9 a.m. in the 1300 block of California Drive, located off Old Nashville Highway, midway between Smyrna and Murfreesboro.
A woman in the home told fire officials she was smoking a cigarette in the attic and dropped it, causing the attic to go up in flames.
Most of the second-floor was fully engulfed when crews arrived on the scene minutes later.
"By the time fire units arrived on the scene [flames] had already vented through the roof," Rutherford County Fire Chief Larry Farley said, adding, "When it's already vented through the roof, and it has that much growth on us, we decided to go on defensive attack."
It was nearly two hours before the flames were extinguished.
The home is a total loss.
The home belongs to the woman's mother. She had already left for work Tuesday when the fire began.
Farley said no one was injured although one firefighter was transported to the hospital for elevated blood pressure.
