Johnny Cash's Hendersonville Home in Flames

Firefighters Fighting to Control the Flames

The Hendersonville, Tennessee home of the late, great Johnny Cash has been destroyed by fire as firefighters fought to control the flames.

According to fire chief, Jamie Steele, the fire began at 1:40 p.m. as firefighters were immediately dispatched. Though firefighters arrived only five minutes after the call, the home was already engulfed in flames. The fire had spread quickly, according to Steele, because construction workers had recently applied a flammable wood preservative. Only the steel frame and chimney of the music legend's home remains.

Though the home is currently owned by Bee Gees front man, Barry Gibbs, the home is considered by many Tennesseans and music fans alike as a national landmark where both Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, lived until their passing. The 13,880 square-foot home played a major role in the Oscar nominated bio-pic of Cash, Walk the Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, who is also a Nashville native. The home has also been a frequent stop of country-music based home tours in the Nashville area.

The lake front home sold to Gibbs in 2005 for a reported $2.3 million by Cash's brother and real estate agent, Tommy Cash. Gibbs stated to the press in 2005 after buying the home that he intended to preserve the home as a memory to Cash's career in life. Cash and his family spent thirty-five years in the home, the majority of the Cash's married life.

June Carter Cash died in 2003 following complications incurred from valve replacement surgery. Johnny died less than four months later from diabetic complications. Before his death, Cash recorded a cover of Nine Inch Nails, "Hurt," considered by many to be a posthumous tribute to his late wife.