No cause yet known for blaze that destroys home on CR 4908

By Rich Flowers in The Athens Review
A Sunday morning blaze destroyed a large horse-barn with upstairs living quarters on County Road 4908 near Murchison. The fire was on property owned by the family of late Athens businessman Jay Benson. Murchison Volunteer Fire Department Chief Roy Head said there were no injuries in the fire. Benson’s daughter, Buffy Benson, who had been living at residence, was not at home when the fire erupted, Head said. The cause of the blaze is undetermined, pending an investigation by Henderson County Fire Marshall John Holcomb.

“We probably put about 15,000 gallons on it,” Head said. “We couldn’t save anything, because everything was pretty well gone when we got there. We did what we could do”

The Athens Fire Department responded to the initial fire call at about 9:20 a.m. Firefighters could see the flames from Farm-to-Market Road 2495 as they moved to the scene. Assistant Chief Tres Winn said the 2-story structure was fully-involved when the truck arrived.

When it was clear that nothing of value could be saved, firefighters allowed the remains of the structure to burn down.

“When Athens left, we waited around about 20 or 30 minutes until it burned the rest of the sides,” Head said. “After they collapsed, we went in and put it out.”

The Baxter Volunteer Fire Department and North 19 Fire/Rescue each brought an additional 3,000 gallons to lend support. Firefighters were also aided some by light rain, Head said.

“We were out there until about 4 p.m., so it was a lengthy day,” Head said.