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Wlaf1450‘Our fire department was fantastic. They were right here for us’- Rhonda Longmire
LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- “We bought carbon monoxide detectors from Smith Hardware about a year ago. We’d never had them before. All eight of them were beeping like crazy this morning,” said Rhonda Longmire, market president for Community Trust Bank.
Not long after opening for business on Wednesday, Longmire and her staff at the downtown offices of Community Trust Bank knew something was wrong. They smelled gas, and those detectors were chirping in unison.
“Our La Follette Fire Department is fantastic. They were right here, got us all out of the building and went right to work. They knew real fast what was going on,” said Longmire. The bank was forced to close and remain closed the rest of Wednesday.
There are six HVAC units on top of the bank, and two of them went bad, according to Longmire. “Those bad units sent gas into the building, and the firefighters figured that out, shut off the units and ventilated the building,” said Longmire.
“The folks at Powell-Clinch Utility District took such good care of us and turned off the gas so the HVAC crew could get to work,” said Longmire.
“It all goes back to our training. Our B Shift with Capt. Andrew Carroll did exactly what they were supposed to do in a situation like that. Makes me proud,” said LFD Chief Jimmy Pack.
Community Trust Bank’s downtown offices will open for business at 8am, as usual, on Thursday. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-10/30/2025-6AM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF WLAF’S MATTHEW MOORE)