Trucker arrested for driving over fire hose at Shooters Depot

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – It could be months before the Shooter’s Depot on Shallowford Road is back in business after Wednesday fire.

But a local truck driver will also feel the pain of the fire for awhile.

Fire officials say he drove over a fire hose on Wednesday that supplied water to the firefighters.

A Chattanooga police officer chased him down and charged him with reckless endangerment and crossing a fire hose.

Chief Rick Boatwright is glad he did.

“These fire hoses are lifelines for our firefighters”, said Boatwright. “If you bust a fire hose while driving over it, you’ve taken away the protection the firefighters must have while fighting a fire.”

On Thursday, fire officials estimated the damage at roughly $400,000 for the building and $30,000 for the contents.

They haven’t released a cause for the fire yet, but a Shooters Depot employee told us they believe it was electrical in nature.