News Releases

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- At 8:58 tonight, Chattanooga firefighters responded to a vacant house fire at 3708 3rd Avenue. Captain Brad Petty with Engine 9 said heavy smoke and some flames were visible coming from the roof. As additional firefighters arrived on the scene, the firefighters got on the roof and used hand-held hoselines to extinguish the fire in the attic. Captain David Thompson Jr. said it took roughly 10 minutes to get the blaze under control. No injuries were reported.

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- Chattanooga firefighters responded to a small fire at Calvin Donaldson Elementary School around 11:30 this morning. A fire investigator says a boy in the fourth grade took his shirt off in the bathroom and set it on fire. The fire was quickly extinguished by the principal and her staff, but the entire school was evacuated as a precaution. No one was injured.

There was no damage to the school. The fire investigator said the student was taken to Children's Hospital at Erlanger for an evaluation.

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- The fire broke out at 3214 Beech Street around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, September 17, 2017. Robert Dawson, 46, was home at the time and he told firefighters that he heard a popping sound. When he went to investigate, the front part of his apartment was engulfed in flames. With no way to escape out the front door, Dawson busted out a window in his bedroom and jumped out his second story window. He injured both ankles in the fall and then crawled on his hands and knees to get around to the front of the house.

Chattanooga firefighters arrived moments later and worked to get the blaze under control. One firefighter was injured in the process. She was transported by Hamilton County EMS to a local hospital, where she was treated and released for relatively minor burns.

The dollar loss from the fire was estimated at $35,000. The lead fire investigator says the cause of the fire is suspicious in nature. The investigation will continue.

* Photos by Captain David Thompson Jr.

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To All Local News Media:

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- This afternoon the Chattanooga Fire Department responded to a second fire in Lookout Valley. This fire was at 3214 Beech Street at 6:30 pm. Quint 14 was the first arriving company and reported heavy fire and smoke showing. There were a total of 7 companies that responded to this fire, with some of them from the previous fire. There was one person home at the time of the fire and the resident had to jump from a second floor window. Fire Department personnel treated the resident until Hamilton County EMS arrived on the scene and took over patient care and transported him to a local hospital. The 7 fire companies were Quint 14, Engine 5, Quint 2, Squad 1, Quint 1, Quint 3, Squad 13, Battalion Chief 3, Battalion Chief 2, and the acting PIO. Hamilton County EMS and Chattanooga Police Department also responded.