ATHENS UPS FACILITY AND AROUND 24 TRUCKS BURN IN FIRE

ATHENS, Tenn. (WVLT) – A UPS building and around 24 trucks are facing “significant damage” after a fire broke out at an Athens facility.
It happened around midnight, according to the Athens Fire Department. Crews arrived at the scene on Lawn Drive and found the building fully involved.
Department representatives also said that two employees were inside the building, but got out without being injured.
“Quick response and aggressive fire operations by our firefighters prevented the incident from becoming much worse,” Chief Brandon Ainsworth said. “No injuries were reported. We would like to thank Athens police for controlling the scene while our crews were occupied with the fire and AMR for providing rehab. We would also like to thank Athens Rural Fire, Bradley County Fire, Cleveland Fire, Englewood, Madisonville Fire and Riceville Fire for their assistance.”
UPS provided a written statement about the incident:
We’re very grateful that there were no injuries as the result of a fire at our facility in Athens, TN. There were relatively few packages inside the facility at the time. Pickups and deliveries in the Athens area have been suspended today, but we have contingency plans in place to resume service as soon as possible.
At this time, we don’t know how much the damage will cost to repair and the fire is still under investigation.