‘There’s No Doubt
In My Mind A
National Treasure
Was Saved’

By NELSON MORIAS
Staff Writer

The arrest of two suspects in connection with the fire that gutted the Bernard No. 2 Warehouse left officials with the desire to explain just how close the community came to losing the historic Andrew Johnson Homestead — and to praise the efforts of firefighters.

Federal charges were filed on Friday against suspects Matthew Keith Rose, of 107 York Drive, and Jory Ramirez, of 318 Cypress Street, who were apprehended Thursday.

The two men, both 18, were each charged in the U.S. District Court of East Tennessee on two federal charges of “maliciously” damaging and destroying “by means of fire and an explosive” the warehouse, which was “used in interstate commerce,” and the Homestead in a fire set in the warehouse around 2 a.m. on Thursday.

Greeneville Police Chief Terry Cannon said, “We lost one historic site” — the warehouse, which is a historic city landmark that had been renovated to be a museum.


He added, “We came close to losing a second one.”

Lizzie Watts, superintendent of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, said firefighters saved the former home of President Andrew Johnson, built in 1851, by putting out flames that were burning up a towering elm tree that partially hung over the home’s roof.

“Firefighters did save the house. There’s no doubt in my mind,” Watts said Friday in an interview with The Greeneville Sun. She added, “We are very, very fortunate. You know, a national treasure was saved.”

Watts thanked Kent Bewley, owner of the destroyed warehouse, for being on the scene of the fire and alerting and diverting firefighting efforts to two elm trees — one large, and one smaller one — and a long row of hemlock trees on the property.

“Bewley (told the firefighters) that the hemlocks (which were burning) could explode” as they burned up, endangering the nearby Homestead, according to Watts.

A Protective ‘Wall’

Based on Bewley’s warning firefighters concentrated on putting “a wall of water” between the roof of the Homestead, made of cedar shake, and described by Watts as “so flammable,” and the warehouse.
 Watts said 28 hemlock trees on the Homestead property were destroyed, and about 12 other hemlock trees were partially damaged. Two signs on the property also were damaged by the blaze.

The Homestead, closed Thursday and Friday, reopens today, from 9 to 5 p.m., though the parking lot between the home and the warehouse remains closed as a safety precaution.

Fire ‘Within 60 Feet’

Greeneville Fire Chief Mark Foulks said at a press conference Friday afternoon, “We saved multiple buildings. (The fire) was within 60 feet” of the Homestead.

He said some windows on adjacent businesses were melted because of the fire’s intense heat, but firefighters kept flames from jumping to other buildings.

Owner Gives Thanks

Bewley thanked fire personnel that battled the blaze, along with law enforcement officers.
“The Andrew Johnson (Homestead) really was in danger for some time,” he said.

He called the loss of his warehouse “a tremendous loss” and “a tragedy.”

“I hope we can save a portion of the building and make a negative into a positive,” Bewley said.

Two ‘Molotov Cocktails’

The suspects in custody, Rose and Ramirez, started the fire in the warehouse with two “Molotov cocktails” thrown into the rear of the building along its College Street side, probably without expecting it to cause the extensive damage that it did, according to Capt. Terry Webb, the Greeneville Police Department’s chief detective.

Based on his review of his detectives’ interviews with Rose and Ramirez, “I don’t think they realized the consequences of their actions.” He called their alleged fire-setting a “random” act.

“They thought it (the fire) would be caught early,” Webb said.

The captain also said a woman called his department after the fire to say she saw “some boys” go into the warehouse last Saturday at dusk.

Rose and Ramirez “admitted to being in (the warehouse) Saturday night,” Webb said.
No one was injured in the roaring blaze.

$1 Million Warehouse

Bewley said he estimated the former tobacco warehouse, with its recently completed renovations, was worth $1 million just prior to the fire.

In a brief telephone interview Friday morning, Bewley said of the suspects’ arrests, “I’m glad they’ve been apprehended. At least we know what happened and why it happened. We can deal with it, and move on.”

He added of the two young men, “It’s just a shame people make foolish decisions that affect their lives (and the lives of others) ... and caused serious damage to the community (and) a major tragedy.”
 At the afternoon press conference, Webb told Bewley, “We worked hard, then had a bit of luck, too.”

Cannon said to the media gathered for the Friday afternoon press conference that the fire, investigation and arrests had resulted in a “long 36 hours.”

Webb said, “It came together for us ... so quickly.”

Officials said the entire incident had been a very successful, cooperative effort involving the Greeneville Police Department, Greeneville Fire Department, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) and the state fire marshal’s office.

Evidence Of Satanism?

Webb said evidence found at Rose’s residence indicated one or both of the men were involved in satanism.

Among the objects found there were a pentagram symbol, a Bible with a dagger stuck through it, inverted crosses, a “shrine” with an angel with painted black tears on it, and portions of four tombstones officials think the two stole from a local cemetery.

At a Friday morning press conference in Greeneville’s Town Hall boardroom, Webb said Rose and Ramirez were transported by Webb and Capt. Teddy Lawing from the workhouse jail on West Summer Street to the federal courthouse on Depot Street for an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Inman earlier that day at 9 a.m.

A bond and detention hearing will be held Monday, Aug. 4, at 2:30 p.m., again at the federal courthouse.

Their case will then go before a federal grand jury Aug. 12, according to Webb.

Webb added that if the two are indicted by the federal grand jury on Aug. 12, they will be arraigned Aug. 15.

Background On Homestead

The Homestead is preserved by the U.S. government as part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site.

Johnson purchased his first Greeneville home, the brick house near his tailor shop, from Mordecai Lincoln, a second cousin to Abraham Lincoln, and also the man who performed the marriage ceremony of Johnson and Eliza McCardle.

A legal snag kept the title to the house from going through to Johnson for about 20 years.
When Johnson finally received the title, he traded the house along with $950 for the home that most people today associate with him — the Johnson Homestead. During the most momentous years of his public life, this was Johnson’s Tennessee residence.

Open to the public, this house provides a glimpse into the home life of Johnson and his family, and of domestic life generally in the mid-1800s.

On most days, guided tours may be scheduled hourly. Tour arrangements are made at the Andrew Johnson Visitor Center located on College Street at the corner of East Depot Street.