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Minor Charged With Arson At A Mall In Pigeon Forge

A male minor in Pigeon Forge has been taken to court and brought up on charges of starting a blaze that led to the destruction of a business housed in the Z Buda Mall.

The minor is accused of starting the inferno which completely razed down the Just Stop Smokies joint and damaged several surrounding enterprises on October 5.

Investigators from the Pigeon Forge Police Department said that there were strong links between the October 5 fire and another blaze that had occurred at a Kroger located on Wears Valley Road just two days earlier.

An employee within the Z Budda Mall gave evidence to investigators that on the day in question, they were alerted to the fire by a smoking display and this is when they spotted the minor at the scene. It is while the employee was putting out the blaze using water that the minor ran away from the location.

Investigators were able to trace the minor and his guardians to their Tennessee home after going through multiple statements from both arson scenes and surveillance footage from the crime scenes.

In court, the minor was brought up on two charges of causing deliberate aggravated arson.

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On Monday afternoon, an inferno completely destroyed a business located within the Red Roof Mall in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and caused severe damages to other businesses which were in close proximity.

Tony Watson – The Chief of Pigeon Forge Fire Department said that the blaze at Factory Outlet Mall on 2828 Parkway was first reported at about 2:05 p.m.

According to a press release that was shared on Monday, multiple first responders from different agencies across the county showed up to help curb the spread of the blaze. At the time of the release, the fire had been contained. However, investigators had not yet determined the cause of the inferno.

No individual was hurt by the inferno.

According to Watson, by the time the first firefighters arrived at the scene, Just Stop Toys & Gifts – one of the businesses at the mall had already been totally been completely gutted by the fire.

Chief Watson said that the fire crews at the scene of the fire worked valiantly to contain the blaze at the site of origin so that it did not spread to nearby buildings. However, by the time the fire got contained, one of the nearby buildings had already sustained heavy smoke damage while another sustained minor smoke damage.

Fire crews from Sevierville and Gatlinburg came to assist their colleagues from Pigeon Forge to contain the blaze. Though the fire had already been put under control, Watson side that the crews on site were likely to work through the night identifying and putting out potential hot spots with a view of ensuring that the inferno did not start again. The Pigeon Forge Fire Department chief said that he expects that further investigations as to the cause of the blaze are expected to resume on Tuesday.

Watson attributed the quick spread of the fire to the fact that the original site of the blaze had no sprinklers.

Several enterprises close to the scene of the blaze lost their electricity supply during the efforts to curb the spread of the blaze. However, Chief Watson provided business owners with an assurance that they will get power restored since safety had already been restored in the area.

Original Article: https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/fire-breaks-out-at-pigeon-forge-outlet-mall/51-6fde38cb-64c1-462d-aca2-a93a0e846ef9