Cash home blaze believed to be accidental

By Jeremy Johnson and Cheryl Tatum

All that remains of the former home of Johnny and June Carter Cash on Caudill Drive in Hendersonville is a wood shell. Fire officials have said the blaze that destroyed the home now owned by singer and songwriter Barry Gibb was accidental.(Jeremy Johnson/Hendersonville Star News)

While they do not know exactly what sparked the blaze, Fire Investigator Bob Galoppi said he believes the blaze began in the downstairs area that was once the Cashes' dining room.

The home, sold to entertainer Barry Gibb in January 2006 was under renovation, and it was materials being used in that work that Galoppi said fueled the flames.

What caused the blaze

According to Galoppi, the ignition source was near where a number of flammable and combustible materials were being used and they were likely sparked by a piece of electrical equipment kicking on inside the house.

"It definitely started in the downstairs area. With the mixture of chemicals they were using feeding the fire, it couldn't have gone up any faster had someone run around the house with a can of gasoline and lit it with a match," the fire investigator said.

"Those guys that were in there at the time are lucky they made it out alive. That fire would have created so much pressure that it would have blown all the doors shut," he said.

There were 14 workers in and around the lakeside home on Caudill Drive when the fire began early Tuesday afternoon, according to the contractor - plumbers, heating and air conditioning technicians, electrical contractors, painters and carpenters.

"The actual ignition source almost doesn't matter," said Hendersonville Fire Chief Jamie Steele, whose crews stayed at the fire scene around the clock as rain drenched the neighborhood around Old Hickory Lake without extinguishing the fire.

"Any time you have possibly flammable vapors in an enclosed space, it's just waiting - there are dozens of things that could have created the spark."

Galoppi added there were no valuables in the house at the time the fire started, adding contractors had gutted the house during the renovation process.

He said the Gibbs' insurance company would take over the scene and begin its own investigation into the fire on Friday.

Mike Elmore, president of Cardinal Construction Service, said his work crews were nearly finished with the restoration when disaster struck.

"We had promised them they would be in by July 4. We probably would have beat that (deadline) by over a month," Elmore said.

The contractor said all the workers at the home were experienced and after interviewing them he is, "99 percent certain that this was simply an accidental thing."

The community remembers

While flames were still shooting skyward, Hendersonville residents and members of the city's musical community gathered remembering their times with the Cashes in the lakeside home and expressing sadness for the new owner who had planned to make his own music in the historic house.

"I've been in this house many times with Johnny and June," said William Lee Golden with the Oak Ridge Boys. "This is just devastating."

Golden stood along side his wife Brenda and son Solomon along with singer and songwriter T.G. Sheppard and Tommy Cash as the house burned.

Sheppard, who had spoken to Gibb by telephone said the home's new owner was also saddened by the loss.

Another member of Hendersonville's music community, Kelly Lang said Gibb and his wife Linda had been excited about a July 4th move in date for the home. She added Gibb understands the attachment the community has to the home.

Entertainer Marty Stuart who lived next door to the Cash estate and was once married to Cash's daughter, Cindy said the house was a piece of history hosting leaders from all walks of life.

"It has been a sad day Hendersonville today with the loss of the Johnny Cash home," said Hendersonville Mayor Scott Foster Tuesday. "You never want to see someone's home burn down but it is especially sad when it's also a piece of Hendersonville's history."

Cash family members react

The 13,000 square foot house was not only home to the famous couple, their son John Carter Cash grew up there and family members at different times in their lives also called it home.

Johnny Cash's mother, Carrie, lived in the Hendersonville home until her death. Johnny's brother, Tommy Cash, who also helped broker the deal that sold the house to Gibb for $2.5 million in 2006 stood in disbelief as the home burned.

"I just can't talk right now," he said.

His sister Joanne remembered the home as a place where she had been a part of many family gatherings, and she mourned, "such beautiful memories destroyed.

"We are going to keep on singing. We are going to keep on going. We are going to leave all the questions people have about what happened to God," she said.

Also contributing to this report was Tennessean staff writer Jennifer Brooks.