News Releases

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- Flames up to 30 feet high lit up the night sky in the Glenwood community this morning. Chattanooga firefighters received the alarm of a fire at 2604 Ocoee Street at 4:59 a.m. and responded with four fire companies. Captain Wadie Suttles with Engine 4 said they could see the flames from miles away as they rushed to the scene.

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- Chattanooga firefighters were dispatched to a reported structure fire around 5:40 a.m. today at 2707 N. Chamberlain Avenue. Captain David Brooks with Engine 4 said smoke and flames were visible when they arrived on the scene. The firefighters forced their way in through the front door, made an aggressive attack on the fire, and extinguished the flames quickly. No injuries were reported. Captain Brooks said no one was inside the structure, which was reportedly being used for storage.

Battalion Chief Chris Warren, the incident commander, said the fire caused approximately $20,000 in damages. A fire investigator says the cause of the fire is suspicious in nature. The investigation will continue. Chattanooga police and Hamilton County EMS also provided assistance on the scene.

* Photo by Battalion Chief Chris Warren

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Note: You are welcome to use any photos or video clips that might be attached to this news release. If you choose to use them, please provide proper attribution.

Thanks,

Bruce Garner
Public Information Director

Chattanooga Fire Department

Office: 423-643-5625

Cell: 423-421-4278

Email: bgarner@chattanooga.gov

910 Wisdom Street

Chattanooga, TN 37406

Chattanooga Fire Dept on Facebook

https://twitter.com/ChattFireDept

http://www.chattanooga.gov/fire-department

Chris Warren Photo

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- A 45-year-old woman who was pulled from her burning home last September got to meet the people who rescued her today. "I wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for these men right here," said Carrie Gann, as she arrived at Fire
Station 20 this morning to meet the three Chattanooga firefighters who saved her life: Senior Firefighter Joel Nix, Firefighter Engineer Matt Rorex and Firefighter Ryan Swisher.

Carrie Gann was critically injured when her house at 111 Centro Street was engulfed in flames early in the morning on September 20, 2017. Her brother and a friend both got out with minor injuries, but Carrie was trapped in her bedroom. When she called 911, she told Hamilton County Telecommunicator Stephanie McCarter that she was trapped and could not get out. McCarter told Carrie that help was on the way, and that she should get down low and cover her mouth and nose with fabric to help filter out some of the smoke. Carrie stayed on the line, finding it harder and harder to breathe, until she eventually fell unconscious. Later in the 911 recording (see attached), you can hear the firefighters approaching her room. Talking through their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), you can hear when they find her and carry her out to safety. Carrie's two pet dogs did not survive.

Even with the expert care she received on the scene, and at Erlanger Medical Center and the burn center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, her survival was in doubt. But after spending days in the ICU, Carrie slowly began to recover, and when she felt strong enough, she asked if she could meet her rescuers.

In addition to meeting the three firefighters who pulled her out of the house, she also met the firefighters with Quint 14, who administered CPR to her before handing her off to paramedics with Hamilton County EMS. She got to meet one of those paramedics, Randy Kerns with Medic 10, and she also got to meet face-to-face, Telecommunicator McCarter, who stayed on the line with her until the firefighters arrived. Carrie learned through her life-threatening experience that it often takes a whole team of first responders to save a life.

Before leaving, Carrie told everyone that she is getting a tattoo on her arm, with the names of the three firefighters she got to meet today. "I want people to know that these guys saved my life, and it's the truth."

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Carrie Gann on Video:

Video 1 - Carrie meets the firefighters for the first time: https://youtu.be/6H3dSnjiw4k

Video 2 - Carrie tell reporters how much she appreciates firefighters: https://youtu.be/1jCFGFDP7mI

Video 3 - Carrie on getting a tattoo with the firefighters' name: https://youtu.be/-jubwVyQJEQ

Note: You are welcome to use any photos or video clips that might be attached to this news release. If you choose to use them, please provide proper attribution. Unless noted otherwise, the photos and videos are from me.