Fires at Fort Loudon Waste and Recycling continue to frustrate city, neighbors

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ( WATE ) — Another fire at the former Fort Loudon Waste and Recycling (FLWR) facility has reignited concerns from neighbors in the Oakwood-Lincoln Park neighborhood.

The Knoxville Fire Department responded to a fire at the property Thursday night. A KFD spokesperson said a 10,500-square-foot building was “heavily involved in fire.”

Wes Breitenbach lives in the North Knoxville neighborhood, and said there have been problems at the property since a massive fire there in 2019 that led to neighbors being evacuated. Investigators determined that fire was caused by a forklift backfiring.

“I live a little less than a mile away from the property and there were burning pieces of paper and embers still on fire, landing in my yard and landing around us,” Breitenbach said. “So yeah, it is definitely a concern that the next time it could catch one of the neighbor’s houses on fire or cause more damage.”

According to the City of Knoxville, FLWR does not have a valid business license and is no longer an active corporation in Tennessee.

“Just aesthetically, it’s not good for the neighborhood. Environmentally, it’s horrible because all of the runoff and everything that comes from that property when it rains and everything,” Breitenbach said.

According to the city, a total of 17 complaints alleging code violations have been filed since the 2019 fire. The Knoxville Fire Department responded to the site three times this year before Thursday’s fire. A tractor-trailer caught fire on Feb. 1, a small building burned in May, and there was a dumpster fire in July.

A cause has not yet been determined in Thursday’s fire. Edward Bales, an owner of FLWR, told 6 News he believes it was an arson, and that he was in the process of clearing out the building at the time of the fire.

In May 2023, there was a fire at the site that KFD investigators determined was an arson set by two juveniles.

In response to Thursday’s fire, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon released the following statement:

“I share residents’ frustration that there was another fire at the former Fort Loudon Waste and Recycling site. I have asked Fire Chief Stan Sharp, Law Director Charles Swanson and Chief Operating Officer Grant Rosenberg to advise me on options available to the City for addressing this long-standing challenge within the Oakwood-Lincoln Park neighborhood.”

Neighbors have expressed frustration with the site for years. In June 2023, the city issued a notice of zoning violation to the property for “utilizing the property as a storage yard.” The notice instructed the owners to “remove all materials stored outdoors by June 30, 2023.”

According to the city, in Feb. 2024 a judge found the owners in violation, and fined them $12,578. The owners did not appear in court, and no progress was being made toward completing the permit process. An additional notice of violation was issued in March 2024, which is still pending.

The property has now been up for sale for 10 months. Bales also told 6 News he is working with two companies that want to turn the site into multi-family housing units. However, no sale has been finalized.

This option is something Breitenbach expressed interest in.

“Ultimately I think the greatest thing that could happen to that property is have it turned into a park. Maybe a section of it could be eventually converted over to some multi-family housing, but anything would really be better than what it is right now because of the burden that it causes on just the neighborhood and the city,” he said.

The city has issued a demolition order for the building that burned on Thursday. After the building is demolished, the city will invoice the owners for all costs associated with the cleanup. If unpaid, the city will file a lien against the property.

The city also told 6 News that FLWR is in arrears on its real and personal property taxes. The owners owe the City and County a combined $257,414 in back taxes. Bales did not have a comment about the taxes.

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