NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Nashville couple is safe after their home near Lenox Village went up in flames Thursday morning, sending two firefighters to the hospital and taking hours to extinguish.
Victor Wharton was inside his home when his wife alerted him that their neighbors’ house on Sunnywood Drive was on fire.
“She said the house is on fire, the house is on fire,” Wharton recalled. “I said, ‘Wow, I’ll be right out,’ and I came right out and said, 'That Jack and Mary’s house.'”
Flames were pouring from the garage. Wharton soon learned Jack and Mary had only minutes to escape before smoke and flames overtook their home.
Wharton said Jack had been test-driving an old ’80s Mercedes when he pulled halfway into the garage and saw fire.
“He tried to get out and the doors were locked,” Wharton said. “And Jack said he climbed through the window. Jack is 87 years old, so all his mobility came back at that moment. It’s amazing what you can do when the adrenaline is there.”
Mary was still inside when help arrived in an unexpected form.
“A UPS driver that pulled up at that time bravely went inside the home,” Nashville Fire Department spokesperson Kendra Taylor said. “This was quickly spreading and that UPS driver had to escort the female homeowner out of the home to safety.”
Wharton welcomed the couple into his home, even giving Jack clothes while firefighters battled the aggressive flames. Crews faced obstacles inside, including blocked doorways and multiple structural collapses, leading to one firefighter being seriously injured.
“She was caught inside this collapse,” Taylor said. “The person on scene was there to pull her away, and our medics took her to the hospital.”
The injured firefighter suffered multiple fractures in her legs. Taylor said she is stable and recovering. Another firefighter was also hospitalized, checked out, and released.
After several hours, crews contained the blaze, leaving the home’s wooden frame exposed and charred debris — including the burned Mercedes — scattered across the yard.
Wharton said he hates seeing his neighbors lose their home, but they’ll always have people looking out for them.
“That’s my neighbor,” he said. “I was very concerned with what was going on with them and had to make sure they were okay.”
This story was reported on-air by reporter Aaron Cantrell and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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