Smoke Alarm Saves Woman from Overnight Fire

Chattanooga, TN (WDEF) – No injuries were reported in connection with a house fire overnight, thanks in part to a working smoke alarm. The Chattanooga Fire Department received the alarm around 12:30am and responded to 1815 Citico Avenue with four fire companies.

Captain Joey Smith with Engine 5 said smoke was showing when the first firefighters arrived on the scene. Upon entering the house, the firefighters found a fire inside the wall dividing the living and dining rooms. Captain Smith said the firefighters used hand tools to open up the walls and found a significant amount of fire that had burnt through the floor and spread upward into the attic space.

The firefighters then used tools to open up the ceiling and the floor below to extinguish what remained of the fire. The dollar loss was estimated at around $20,000.

The woman who lived in the house told firefighters that she was asleep when her smoke alarm activated. She promptly got out of the house and called 911.

The cause of the fire has been ruled accidental. Captain Smith said the fire appears to have been started by an electrical malfunction inside the wall and crawl space. Chattanooga police, Hamilton County EMS and EPB also provided assistance on the scene.
—
Photos courtesy of Bruce Garner, Chattanooga Fire Department: