JOHN COFFELTEditor

A fire at Carden Estates Apartments on Summer Street during the early hours of Friday, Aug. 23 destroyed 36 housing units, displacing more than 70 people.

Manchester Fire Chief George Chambers said the fire originated in the second floor of the middle complex. The fire quickly spread to the roof and eventually destroyed 36 units.

Firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after 3:30 a.m. to find fire coming through the roof of Building B. Firefighters began fighting the fire and called for mutual aid from Tullahoma Fire and the county rural volunteer fire departments.

Chambers said an investigation into the fire’s cause began Monday, Aug. 23.

“We’ll start the investigation on Monday,” Chambers said Friday at the scene. “Our investigators at Manchester Fire, Coffee County investigators along with other agencies from the state will begin that investigation on Monday.”

According to Mayor Joey Hobbs, approximately 72 individuals were bussed to the Conference Center where the displaced residents were processed with the American Red Cross.

According to city officials, South Central Development District transportation division offered a bus to take people back-and-forth to work and into the scene when appropriate.

The Dusty Elam Foundation stepped in to deliver toiletries, and Hardee’s Restaurant provided breakfast to the victims.

The city is currently contacting local clergy to help in coordinating available resources.

“I know that many of you will be eager to help in any way that you can because that’s what we do in Manchester,” Hobbs said in a statement.

“I will give further updates throughout the day as to the best way to proceed. I would like to close by thanking the Manchester Fire Department for their heroic efforts in sustaining the fire and their assistance with the families affected. There was no loss of life, and for that, we can be incredibly grateful,” Hobbs said.

Chambers thanked Manchester Police, Coffee County Sheriff Department, Coffee County Communications, responding volunteers, Coffee County Rescue Squad and the local Hardee’s Restaurant for their assistance.

“It’s been a great team effort,” Chambers said. “The mayor and his staff have been a great help to us and a lot of great assistance from everybody.

Community rallies to aid victims

By Sunday afternoon, all the displaced families were provided at least temporary lodging.

According to a statement by Hobbs, those coordinating aid are still working on more permanent solutions for others.

Several local churches are accepting donations of household goods and furnishings (no clothing or food, please) at Safe Storage on Wednesday and Thursday from 1-4 p.m. The group is following the Red Cross model and only accepting new items.

According to Hobbs, the Red Cross has opened individual cases for each family affected by the fire. For the first 30 days, the Red Cross will be addressing the household and related financial needs of the families. After 30 days, the cases will be “released” and that’s when our local donations will come into play.

An advisory board was formed to oversee the distribution of cash donations That board includes Hobbs as chairman, Thomas Crosslin of Good Samaritan, BJ Fann of Manchester City Schools Family Resource Center, Deidra Goins of All God’s Children, Jane Marcrom of One Day of Hope, Josh Carney of Dusty Elam Foundation and Taylor Rayfield of the Sportsman and Businessman Association.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.