‘The home was totally destroyed’- Campbell Rural Fire Service Captain Daniel Lawson 

LAFOLLETTE, TN. (WLAF)- After a structure fire and barricading himself inside a camper, a man remains in the hospital.

Before lunch on Friday fire crews responded to a house fire on Low Gap Road in LaFollette. Afterwards, Matt Burchfield, who is believed to be in his 50’s, told authorities he started the blaze by setting his mattress on fire.

Burchfield had fled the burning home going to a nearby camper before emergency crews arrived.

When deputies did arrive, he refused to come out, Sheriff Wayne Barton said. The situation grew tense when Burchfield allegedly told authorities he was armed and prepared to kill himself. This combined with Burchfield’s other language, that was not making sense, prompted officers to draw back from the camper, according to the sheriff. Around 30 minutes later Burchfield came out of the trailer. “He had a lot of cuts. He was very bloody,” Barton said. “There were cuts around his neck.”

There was no indication of a gunshot wound, Barton said.

Burchfield was air lifted to a Knoxville hospital, where he remains.

There are no charges pending at this time, according to Barton. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 7/16/2024- 6AM)

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