The Knoxville Fire Department has sent out the following press release.
“Around 10:30 p.m. Dispatchers received a 911 call from a woman reporting to be trapped by fire in her basement with no doors or windows. The caller stated that the only way to get to her location was through the main level of the house and down the steps. When firefighters arrived they broke through the front door of the home and proceeded to look for the stairs, finding none they exited and began a perimeter search when they were met by two Knoxville Police Officers who reported to the firefighters they had found a garage door which they had opened and could see the woman lying in the floor through the heavy black smoke. The two officers (Cynthia Demarcus, Haley Starr) along with Fire Captain Steve Kidwell pulled the woman in her early fifties to safety. The two KPD officers and the victim were transported to the hospital for non life threatening smoke inhalation. The victim was alert and conscious telling fire officials she had knocked over a candles in the non livable space beneath the home. No other injuries were reported and Fire Investigators are investigating the cause.”

Captain D.J. Corcoran
Knoxville F.D