Country singer Sammy Kershaw inadvertently set a fire Thursday in his home that, as a result, sustained "heavy smoke damage, but no structural damage."
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - Country singer Sammy Kershaw inadvertently set a fire Thursday in his home that, as a result, sustained "heavy smoke damage, but no structural damage."
Kershaw tells The Associated Press no one was injured.
"Thank the good Lord, nobody was here," Kershaw said. "There's no structural damage but the smoke damage is really bad. Hopefully we can get it out."
Kershaw said all of his memorabilia, including his music masters, were safe. "I lost some content, but nothing happened to them," he said.
Kershaw said he had left his home Thursday evening when he remembered he was supposed to bring some of his own, "Sammy Kershaw Cajun Spices," to a friend so he returned to the house. He said he grabbed three cans of the spice blend and was headed out again when apparently the box that held the spices slid onto his stove, catching two of the knobs that ignite the burners.
There were papers and other items on the countertops near and on the stove, he said. "That's likely what caught fire," he said.
Minutes after leaving a second time, his alarm company alerted him to the blaze. He said he returned home and saw the smoke once he got inside. "I threw a bunch of towels and blue jeans on it and smothered about 90 percent of it by the time firefighters arrived," he said. "I let them handle the rest."
Kershaw said his two-story, Acadian-styled home, is just a few yards from the fire department and he had installed the alarm system just a few months ago.
"There's always good in every bad, even though sometimes you've got to look for it. I just installed that alarm system," he said.
A spokesman for the city fire department did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment about the fire.
Kershaw ran for lieutenant governor in 2010, finishing third in the primary election. He later endorsed Jay Dardenne, who ultimately won the statewide position.
Kershaw scored major hits in the early '90s, including "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" and "I Can't Reach Her Anymore." He has sold over 5 million albums.