A kitchen fire on Tuesday night left a mother and her three children temporarily homeless.
Around 11 p.m., Andera Chapman’s 18-year-old son put a pan of grease on the stove to do some cooking, and then stepped outside the house to watch his younger brother play. A short time later, he noticed smoke coming from the kitchen, and, when he went to investigate, he observed the pan of grease was on fire.
He alerted his mother, who was in a back bedroom, and then tried to carry the burning pan out the back door, but dropped the pan along the way.
The fire quickly spread to the rest of the kitchen. The mother and all three children were out of the house when firefighters arrived.
Paramedics with Hamilton County EMS treated the 18-year-old on the scene for smoke inhalation, but he was not transported to a hospital.
The Chattanooga Fire Department received the alarm at 11:11 p.m. and responded to 3010 3rd Ave. with four fire companies. Battalion Chief Mike Knox said the first firefighters on the scene attacked the fire very quickly, containing the fire damage to the kitchen area. Chief Knox said there was smoke and heat damage to the rest of the house.
The dollar loss was estimated at around $35,000. The American Red Cross was called in to provide assistance to the family.
Senior Firefighter Henry McElvain with the Fire Investigation Division ruled the fire accidental, due to the pan of grease being left unattended on the stove.