NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
Ten people are displaced Tuesday morning following a house fire at a residence in Hermitage that fire officials are calling suspicious.
Firefighters responded to the fire around 2 a.m. at a duplex in the 300 block of Monaco Drive off of Lebanon Pike, not far from Old Hickory Boulevard.
Neighbors reported that they heard a loud boom behind the home just moments before seeing flames come from the roof of the two-story home.
Neighbor Kenny Scribner told Nashville's News 2, "My son and daughter-in-law were here. They heard the explosion. I reckon when it exploded, flames caught the top of the roof on fire."
Because of this explosion, officials confirmed that the bomb squad was sent in to assist around 3 a.m.
Scribner was on his way home when he saw the smoke.
He said, "As I started coming down the road, I could tell it was over here pretty close. Flames where shooting, I was kind of worried about flames coming over or whatever. They didn't [ever] come over to my house [because] they were shooting pretty high."
Crews told Nashville's News 2 that one side of the duplex received damage.
Firefighters believed a truck parked at the rear of the duplex caught fire, then spread to the home.
Families on both sides escaped without injuries. One of the residents' pets was also saved from the fire.
The American Red Cross stepped in to assist with those who were affected by the fire.
No injuries were immediately reported.
Firefighters were concerned with overheating due to the high temperatures.
Nashville Fire Department District Chief Bobby Connelly said, "[The] guys worked real hard. Everybody knows the hot weather. You put your gear on, 30 pounds, so we have to move our people in and out."
A short time before the blaze, firefighters were called to another vehicle fire about a mile away at the Hermitage Inn which was also deemed suspicious.
The Nashville Fire Department and Metro police are investigating to determine a cause and to see if there was any relation between the two fires.
