Local authorities and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are probing an Oct. 20 fire that officials believe was arson at a Dayton, Tennessee, business.
Hiwassee Packaging, in Dayton's industrial park on the north end of town, had little damage from fire, smoke and water last week, though early concerns about some of the chlorine-containing pool chemicals inside the plant triggered an initial response that ended up not being needed, according to officials.
TBI spokesperson Susan Niland confirmed Wednesday that the state agency is assisting in the investigation of the suspicious fire and referred further comment to local officials.
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Dayton Fire Chief Charles Suttles said during a phone interview Wednesday the initial call came as a fire and smoke report, but when firefighters got inside and finished snuffing out the fire they found something that didn't make sense.
"The things that burned was a pallet of tape and a pallet of something else," Suttles said. "Because they were not close together, it raised suspicions. They were two separate fires, and they were not connected."
That's when Dayton fire officials got the TBI involved, he said.
"We didn't want to just do it on a local scale and find out these things have been happening in other parts of the state or the country," he said. "If there were other issues going on around the region, they could connect them, and we couldn't."
The company specializes in packaging chemicals for residential and commercial pool supplies. The plant was closed at the time of the fire, and there was no work going on inside the building, Hiwassee Packaging co-owner William Walker said Wednesday in a phone interview.
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Construction of the building was completed in January, and fire code requirements were all up to the latest standards, Walker said. Employees were able to clean up the day after the fire, and operations returned to normal the next day.
Walker urged anyone with information on how the fire started to contact investigators.
While the fire was quickly extinguished, fire officials were worried briefly about a chlorine gas release from materials inside, Suttles said.
"There was a huge cloud of smoke that was going south at 3 mph, and we had companies shelter in place," he said. "Once we got inside, we found out the chlorine was not involved in the fire."
The sprinkler system was activated, causing some powdered residue from production on floors and walls in the area to get wet, Suttles said. That caused the release of a small amount of suspected chlorine gas that was contained to the area inside and soon dissipated, he said.
Suttles said fire protection in Hiwassee Packaging's new building worked as required, and there was no structural damage or injuries from the fire.
"The building was quickly ventilated, and the company went right back to work the next day," Suttles said, thanking firefighters in Graysville, Sale Creek, Soddy-Daisy and a hazardous materials team from Hamilton County for being available to help.
More information should become available as the TBI continues the probe, he said.
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Investigators are asking anyone with information about the fire to call the Tennessee Fire Marshal's Arson Hotline at 800-762-3017. Tipsters can get a reward of up to $5,000 for the right information.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.