Two 18-year-olds have confessed to setting a fire that destroyed a large vacant house Wednesday night on Blue Springs Parkway, said Detective Capt. John Huffine of the Greene County Sheriff's Department.

The blaze lit up the sky for miles to the north and west of Greeneville.

The two, who live within a half-mile of the burned house on the Blue Springs Parkway, were in custody this morning, Huffine said.

Charges of arson were being prepared for Lujack McKinney and Jamie Hayes, Capt. Huffine said.

Addresses were not immediately available for the two.

The Mosheim and Midway volunteer fire departments responded to the 9 p.m. blaze at 3088 Blue Springs Parkway, according to a report on file at the Greene County Sheriff's Department this morning.

Deputy Sheriff John Stills said a motorist, Karen Dean, noticed the fire while driving by and called 911.

The two-story structure was fully involved in flames when firefighters arrived.

The house belonged to Linda Shelton, according to the report, but "was abandoned," with no electrical service.

Allen Shipley, the County Sheriff's Department's arson investigator, was notified and is investigating, according to the report.

Anthony Ball, chief of the Midway VFD, said the fire apparently was fully involved when firefighters were dispatched "because you could look in that direction and see the glow" from the fire as he drove the site.

Ball said the house was off by itself next to an old auto junkyard. He said the property owner came to the scene and said the house was not being lived in.

The Mosheim VFD, in whose area the fire was located, responded with 18 firefighters and five pumper or tanker trucks, said Assistant Chief Josh Kesterson, while the Midway VFD brought 16 firefighters and three trucks. In all, 15,000 gallons of water were used.

No one was injured, Ball said, but traffic on Blue Springs Parkway had to be diverted for a time to make room for the firefighters.