Two Clarke Street Homes Catch Fire After a Line Problem, Neighbors Say

On Sunday morning, Oct. 18, Art Anderson woke to popping sounds around 8 a.m. outside his Clarke Street house in Old Hickory Village. He went out and saw sparks on the power line, then smoke on the run to a transformer — and, soon after, from his own house.

Anderson’s home and that of his neighbor, Barbara Longobardi, both caught fire where the power and cable lines meet the houses, WSMV reported. Longobardi spotted smoke, ran around the side, and found flames. Firefighters were already at Anderson’s house; a passerby helped flag them down. Neighbors had a fire extinguisher on the fire at her house before crews arrived.

Fire incident reports obtained by the station quote NES crews on the scene saying a neutral line had come in contact with another line, and that a power surge back-fed the houses and overloaded the communication lines. NES later confirmed “an issue with a neutral wire at this location” and said crews responded with the fire department. The cause, the utility said, is being investigated internally.

Anderson told WSMV he filed a claim for the damage and that it was denied. Longobardi said she had filed as well, had not heard back, and was worried about a $1,000 deductible. NES declined to discuss individual claims, citing customer privacy, and said it has a process for investigating system issues and handling claims.

Both neighbors described regular outages in the Village. “The funny joke in the village of Old Hickory is if a bird sits on the line, you’re going to lose electricity,” Longobardi said. NES advised anyone who sees smoking wires, sparks, or damaged electrical equipment to call 911 and not approach it.

Source: WSMV.