News Releases

Members of our command staff provided updates today on several recent apartment fires in Chattanooga. In less than two weeks, nearly 60 people have been displaced in three different fires, leaving families without a home at the holidays. The CFD fought the fires and our department has been working closely with the Red Cross and our community partners to make sure those impacted by the blazes are getting the assistance they need. An apartment fire on November 30th on Dayton Boulevard displaced 25 people. A temporary shelter was set up for those victims. The fire was accidental and most likely caused by a resident falling asleep while smoking, catching a chair on fire and then spreading. Another apartment fire on November 30th on Central Drive (Rustic Village Apartments) was electrical in nature, displacing 15 people. An apartment fire on December 7th at the Waterford Place Apartments on Shallowford Road left 17 people without a place to stay. It was accidental, caused by food left unattended on the stove. The CFD stresses the importance of having renters insurance in times like this to help with housing and the replacement of belongings. The fire marshal also urges residents to practice home fire safety. Please remain in the kitchen while cooking and set timers as a reminder. Never leave candles burning unattended. Keep combustibles at least three feet away from space heaters. Practice your family's escape plan regularly and always make sure you have working smoke detectors in your home. The American Red Cross has been helping all of the displaced families with shelter, meals, necessities and resources. Financial donations to the Red Cross’ Disaster Relief Fund are the most efficient way the public can provide assistance at this time. 

Residents knocked on doors to make sure their neighbors safely escaped their burning apartment building Tuesday night. At 6:49 PM, the Chattanooga Fire Department was called to the Waterford Place Apartments at 6220 Shallowford Road. The first company on the scene advised that heavy smoke and fire was coming from the front of one of the buildings in the apartment complex and flames were already through the roof. A second alarm was initiated to bring additional personnel to the complex to help tackle the fire. Thankfully, everyone who lives there was out of the structure. Firefighters made a quick interior attack, gaining access to the second floor apartments and attic space to extinguish the fire. Crews were on scene for some time conducting firefighting operations, overhaul, cleanup and an after-action review of the response. Eight apartments were involved with a total of 17 people displaced. They will be receiving assistance from the American Red Cross. There were no injuries and the cause of the fire is under investigation. Thanks to the residents for taking action to alert their neighbors so that everyone could safely evacuate. Multiple Red Shift companies responded, as well as the battalion chiefs, CFD Supply and CFD Investigations.

The Chattanooga Fire Department has two new state-of-the-art fireboats! They are made by Stanley Boats out of Canada. They are 24 feet in length with a dive door and a landing craft front. The boats are powered by 225 horsepower Suzuki engines. They are equipped with a 500 gallon per minute fire pump. They will greatly aid our department with operations and rescues on the water! The boats replaced a 27 foot Boston Whaler that was obsolete. They give us better coverage of the river and the lake. One will be stationed above the dam and the other below the dam. These boats are ideal assets when it comes to serving the citizens and visitors in Chattanooga.

The Chattanooga Fire Department worked a commercial fire on Sidney Street Wednesday morning. Several Blue Shift companies were called to 2660 Sidney Street at 8:50 AM and found smoke showing from the structure on arrival. The business melts scrap metal and pours it to make brake drums. That produces smoke and they have a dust collection process that keeps smoke from venting to the atmosphere. Hundreds of bags are filled with iron oxide that trap smoke and something got into the exhaust on one of those bags and caught dust on fire inside the filter. Firefighters used a hand line from the bucket on Ladder 1 to cool it down and then the master stream on Ladder 1 to put water on it. Crews were there for some time putting water on the smoldering material to make sure everything was fully extinguished. There were no injuries. Squad 1, Ladder 1, Quint 14, Quint 1, Squad 20, Ladder 5, Engine 9, Battalion 1 and Battalion 3 responded.