Fire Claims Life Of Sheriff's Son

July 29, 2004

HUNTSVILLE - An early Sunday morning fire claimed the life of James Carson, 36-year-old son of Scott County Sheriff Jim Carson.

Investigators have ruled the fire an accident, pending the outcome of an autopsy, which was expected to have been completed on Monday at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

According to Scott County Sheriff's Department Chief Detective Robby Carson, a neighbor of the Annadel Road residence, which Carson rented from Eddie Kries, reported a fire at approximately 5:15 a.m. Sunday morning. Paint Rock Volunteer Fire Department was initially dispatched to the scene, with Huntsville Fire Department dispatching units to provide mutual aid assistance shortly thereafter.

Detective Carson said that Carson was last seen alive at approximately 2 a.m., when his sister, Robyn Carson, left the residence. The fire started sometime between that point and when it was discovered, he said.

When fire departments arrived at the scene, they found the home more than half-way engulfed by the fire. Detective Carson was subsequently dispatched to the scene after the possibility arose that Carson might still be inside the residence.

"They didn't know if he (Carson) was in there or not," Detective Carson said. "The family had been contacting everyone they could think of to try and locate him. When they couldn't, we assumed he was probably still inside the house."

After the fire was brought under control, rescue workers entered the residence and found Carson's body in the living room.

The state fire marshall remained on the scene for much of the day on Sunday before ruling the cause of the fire accidental.

Detective Carson told the Independent Herald on Monday that the sheriff's department's investigation has been completed.

"We have finished our investigation and we think it was an accidental fire," he said. "They are doing an autopsy on the body today (Monday) and then we'll know more, but we think the house just somehow caught on fire, maybe from a cigarette or something like that."

Carson was a 1985 graduate of Scott High School, where he was a mascot for the Highlanders' sports teams. He was employed as a carpenter.

news@ihoneida.com

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