GERMANTOWN, Tenn. — With the help of about 60 firefighters, a massive fire at a Germantown home was finally brought under control Thursday afternoon.
The fire, which started shortly after 4 p.m. at the home in the 8300 block of Briar Creek Drive, likely began in the garage, according to Administrative Chief Keith Saunders with the Germantown Fire Department.
The homeowner, who was inside at the time, made it out safely, Saunders said, but their pet dog had to be rescued.
Neighbors said they heard what sounded like an explosion prior to seeing the flames and smoke.
“My first thought was, ‘Was that a gunshot?'” said Kristen Toombs.
“Just heard a big kind of pop, almost like a firecracker would sound,” said Wendy Remmers.
The pop may have come from a burned SUV in the home’s garage, where firefighters believe the blaze started before spreading through the roof to the rest of the home.
“And then it just heard pop after pop after pop after pop. It just went on from there,” said Remmers.
About an hour after the fire started, it had died down considerably, but crews worked well into the evening picking apart siding to reveal hotspots their hoses had missed.
Once the smoke had cleared, it revealed a house only a shell of its former self. But it also revealed a neighborhood possibly stronger than ever.
“I hate this is the way for everybody to kind of meet everybody out here, but, you know, it’s just my heart goes out to these people for sure,” said Remmers.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Saunders said the house was about 90 percent damaged.
