Three alarm fire leads to all hands on deck response at Integra Vistas Apartments

HIXSON, Tenn. (WDEF) – A three alarm fire at a Hixson apartment complex displaced dozens of residents Sunday afternoon and prompted a large-scale response from the Chattanooga Fire Department and several other fire companies across the city.

Firefighters were dispatched to the Integra Vistas Apartments off Highway 153 at 3:07 p.m.

According to the Chattanooga Fire Department, crews arrived to find flames coming from the roof of Building 188.

Firefighters immediately began attacking the fire while working alongside the Chattanooga Police Department to evacuate residents.

As flames rapidly spread across the roof of the building, the incident commander requested both a second alarm and a third alarm response, bringing in additional personnel and equipment.

Nearly every fire company in the city, 21 out of 27, responded to the scene.

Fire officials said battling the fire was made even more difficult because of water supply issues.

Firefighters initially relied on private hydrants inside the apartment complex before establishing a relay system from city hydrants located nearly a mile away along Highway 153.

Fire engines were positioned approximately every 500 feet to boost water pressure to crews working on the hill.

A portion of Highway 153 was shut down for several hours to support firefighting operations.

As firefighters worked, dozens of residents gathered nearby, anxiously waiting for updates about their homes, family members, and pets.

Samantha Baker said she and her husband were playing pickleball when they began receiving frantic phone calls.

“My husband and I were actually playing at a local pickleball place that just opened. Then we got a call from a bunch of family members. My husband was trying to figure out what was wrong. He got an alert saying our apartment complex had caught on fire. We got really anxious and tried coming over here. By the time we got here, we couldn’t get in. We called a friend, and he said, ‘it was our building.’ He told us it went up in flames, and everything was gone. We still don’t know exactly what happened.”

Another resident, Devin Smiley, said he rushed to the complex after receiving a phone call.

“I got a phone call saying our apartment was on fire, so I came up here, and all I could see was smoke,” Smiley said.

Some neighbors wondered if severe weather may have played a role in the fire.

“You think lightning hit it? We heard it. It was really loud,” one passerby said.

Many people also feared for the safety of pets still inside the building.

“I know people who live there whose animals are there. I don’t know if they’re out. Three days ago I saw a woman sitting on her porch while I was walking my dog. You see people every day, and then you see a video, and their apartment is gone. I couldn’t imagine,” one bystander said.

According to the Chattanooga Fire Department, firefighters successfully prevented the fire from spreading to a nearby apartment building by using aerial master streams.

Officials later announced the fire was under control, although crews continued extensive overhaul operations to search for hidden pockets of fire throughout Building 188.

Fire officials reported that several dogs and cats were rescued from various apartments.

A total of 42 apartments were impacted, leaving approximately 70 people displaced.

Building 188 has been fully accounted for, and all residents were safely evacuated.

The American Red Cross, Southeast Restoration, and property management are working together to assist those affected by the fire.

One firefighter was treated at the scene for heat exhaustion.

No other injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation as firefighters continue overhaul operations and investigators work to determine how the blaze started.