June 12, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
Members of the DeKalb County Fire Department spent up to five hours Friday afternoon trying to contain a roaring fire from a mound of wooden pallets on Woodbury Highway (Highway 53) at Liberty.
Billows of smoke from the large blaze could be seen for miles as fire fighters shuttled water to the scene from available hydrants to bring it under control. Intense heat from the fire damaged utility lines belonging to DTC Communications and Middle Tennessee Electric.
In a prepared statement, the DCF reported that an employee of Hickory Creek Enterprise LLC was conducting a controlled burn of pallets in a burn pit when wind spread embers to another pile of wood close to the pit catching it on fire.
Members of the Temperance Hall, Liberty and Main Station along with Tankers 1 & 2 responded and the fire department’s rehab team. No one was injured.