A Wednesday afternoon fire destroyed the main dining hall at Clyde Austin 4-H Camp in Greene County.
Volunteer firefighters from the Debusk, South Greene and Caney Branch Volunteer Fire Departments, along with the Greeneville Fire Department, were dispatched just before 1:15 p.m. Fire had already begun spreading throughout the building when firefighters arrived, and within minutes, the entire structure was engulfed in flames. Sunnyside, Camp Creek, and Tusculum Volunteer Fire Departments also responded to assist at the scene.
The camp is equipped with a fire hydrant, and firefighters also used tankers and pumpers to draft water from an on-site pond to help battle the blaze. Despite those efforts, the fire continued to spread beneath the building’s tin roof, which helped trap heat and flames inside the structure.
Flames rolled from the north end of the building before portions of the vaulted roof began to collapse. Large sections of the tin roof fell onto the burning debris, complicating efforts to extinguish the fire and creating areas where heat could remain trapped and potentially rekindle flames overnight.
Firefighters remained on the scene Wednesday evening, working to extinguish as many hot spots as possible.
Firefighters were able to prevent the flames and heat from spreading to or damaging adjacent buildings. A vehicle and lawnmower near the dining hall were also destroyed.
Greene County EMS, Greeneville Energy Authority, the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, Greene County Chaplain Danny Ricker and the Debusk Rehab Unit also responded to the scene.
The destroyed dining hall had been the central gathering place at the camp for more than four decades. Originally constructed during a major renovation of the camp between 1979 and 1982, the air-conditioned facility could accommodate up to 350 campers.
According to the camp’s website, the dining hall was also available for public use, accommodating guests for receptions and other gatherings.
The Clyde Austin 4-H Camp originally opened in 1949 and is one of three 4-H camps in Tennessee owned and operated by the University of Tennessee Extension.
The camp was named in honor of Clyde B. Austin, whose family had deep roots in Greene County’s tobacco warehousing and agricultural industries dating back to the late 1800s. Clyde Austin established the Austin Tobacco Company in 1919.
Beginning in 1947, Austin spearheaded a fundraising and development campaign to establish a permanent 4-H camp in Greeneville, personally donating 23.5 acres of land toward the project. Austin died in May 1966, but the camp bearing his name has continued serving generations of young people from Greene County and across Tennessee.
The cause of Wednesday’s fire has not been determined.
