Sawdust is believed to be the cause of a fire that caused minimal damage in Knoxville this morning. Fire crews were called out to 522 East Cronkite at about 8:45 this morning at a report of smoke coming out of the home. Deputy Chief Ben Truetken says when they got on scene, a bucket on the floor just inside the home was burning. Crews took it outside and put it out to minimize damage to the home.

Truetken says the floors in the home were recently sanded as part of a remodeling project, and sawdust was placed in a bucket on the ground. He explains that it appears the warmth from the recently sanded floors caused the sawdust inside the bucket to kindle and eventually flame up. They caught the fire very early, Truetken says, so they were able to limit the damage. There’s damage to the floor in the home where the bucket was as well as minimal smoke damage.