Weekend Fire At Empower Cocke County

An exposed electrical outlet is being blamed as the cause for a fire in downtown Newport on Saturday. That fire was at the Empower Cocke County building. The building’s flooring had been ripped up due to the flooding in September. That left an electrical outlet in the floor exposed, and a donated peiece of furniture caught on fire. When firefighters arrived with the Newport Fire Department, several pieces of furniture in the building were on fire. Firefighters were able to quickly get the fire extinguished before any damage could really be done to the building itself.

Empower Cocke County says the building’s sprinkler system kicked on and helped suppress the fire before fire crews arrived. No one was injured in that fire. Empower Cocke County is assessing any damage.