Fire that gutted Corbin home Monday investigated as possible arson

Corbin Police Detective Lt. Bill Rose takes photos inside the ruined remains of a Fourth Street home in Corbin damaged by fire Monday.

The cause of a fire that caused substantial damage to a home on Fourth Street in Corbin is under investigation, and police say the blaze happened the same day renters at the residence were evicted.

The fire was reported at about 10:25 p.m. Monday night. Corbin firefighters were on scene at 903 W. Fourth Street within about a minute and immediately noticed that the back porch was fully engulfed in flames. No one was home at the time.

"It spread into the kitchen," said Corbin Firefighter Chad Jackson, who helped battle the blaze. "I’d say it’s pretty much a total loss by the time you include all the smoke damage throughout the house."

On Tuesday, Corbin Police Detective Bill Rose and Firefighter Eric Philpot, part of the town’s arson task force, were back at the home to investigate and take samples. Rose said the blaze seems "suspicious" on the surface because of the "nature of the fire" and the timing.

Homeowner Terry Joe Martin said he had rented the home to some tenants and was forced to evict them Monday.

Rose said he plans to interview the former occupants of the home as part of his investigation.

Two firefighters fell through the floor of the home while fighting the fire. Jackson said both men, Craig Owens and Philpot, escaped injury.

The fire department was back out at the home Tuesday morning to extinguish hot spots in the roof that had rekindled overnight.