Chattanooga Fire Department Blue Shift companies worked a second house fire of the night in frigid conditions on Wednesday.
At 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, firefighters responded to a home in the 3900 block of Graceland Trail and found heavy fire coming from the structure. All people were out of the residence.
Crews made an interior attack and conducted searches. It appears that the fire started in the basement and moved up to the second floor.
When the floors became spongy, defensive operations were launched for safety reasons.
CFD personnel remain on the scene several hours later, still working to extinguish the fire in different spots.
There were no injuries. Two adults have been displaced by the fire.
Engine 15, Quint 6, Squad 13, Ladder 13, Quint 8, Battalion 1, and Battalion 2 responded, along with CPD and Hamilton County EMS.
The Chattanooga Fire Department cleared the scene on Graceland Trail after more than nine hours. The home was structurally unsound due to fire damage and the floors were too compromised for firefighters to get inside and fully extinguish the fire. Public Works brought machinery to the scene and tore down the burned duplex due to unsafe conditions. Then crews were able to get the fire out.
Several firefighters suffered minor injuries from falling on the icy driveway. Public Works responded with a salt and sand truck to treat the driveway and roadway in order to improve conditions for firefighters operating on the scene. Heaters were brought out for firefighters to keep warm and also to thaw frozen nozzles and hoses. Crews were rotated in and out of their trucks to get warm.
Multiple agencies assisted the CFD, including city building inspectors, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau, CPD, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue’s rehab truck, CFD investigators, CFD Supply, and Tennessee American Water to aid with water supply.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
In the first fire, two people were displaced by an electrical fire late Tuesday night.
At 10:50 PM on 1/16/24, Blue Shift companies responded to a reported residential fire in the 4100 block of Bonny Oaks Drive, at the corner of Bonny Oaks and Churchill Road.
The residents reported smelling something burning inside their home and firefighters found fire in the front corner of the residence. They made an interior and exterior attack, but they couldn’t fully extinguish the fire until EPB arrived and pulled power to the structure. Every time crews tried to check for extension, wires arced. Once those obstacles were mitigated, the fire was extinguished. It was determined to be electrical in nature, according to officials on the scene.
There were no injuries and the Red Cross will be assisting two adults who safely escaped the fire.
Engine 4, Engine 15, Quint 6, Ladder 7, Squad 7, Battalion 1, and Battalion 2 responded, along with CPD and EPB.