Photo submitted by viewerHARTSVILLE, Tenn. – Firefighters from several counties are battling a fire at a tobacco warehouse in Hartsville.
Metropolitan Hartsville-Trousdale County Mayor Jake West said about one-third of the very large building near the county jail was burning shortly after noon Tuesday.
The blaze began in an older section of Holder's Tobacco Warehouse on East Main Street around 10:45 a.m. Sky 5 HD showed black smoke billowing from the building with firefighters dousing water on the flames.
PHOTOS: Hartsville Tobacco Warehouse Fire
A firefighter from Sumner County who responded to the fire sustained minor injuries while battling the blaze. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment and was expected to be released later Tuesday afternoon.
The Trousdale County Fire Department asked for assistance from Carthage, Macon, and Riddleton fire departments.
West said the dark-fired tobacco sales season was just beginning and there was very little leaf in the warehouse. Firefighters were trying to contain the blaze at a fire wall, hoping to keep it out of a roof that could allow it to spread. Owners were moving equipment out of the structure.
The mayor said the building had once been the Marlene Garment factory that employed nearly 1,000 people.
Officials were able to get the fire under control around 3 p.m. Tuesday, but continued to battle hotspots and some rekindling.
(The Associated Press Contributed To This Report.)
