A man whose house suffered considerable damage in the Highland Park community on Monday evening said he had a long wait before getting a 911 operator.
Tommy Poindexter, 39, said he finally got an operator who said they were "busy" with calls.
Tetzel Tillery, city police spokesman, said police are checking into the response time on the call.
He said there have been a number of complaints from citizens about having to wait a minute or longer before reaching a 911 operator.
Mr. Tillery said police continue to try to educate the public to call 911 only in case of emergency and not for routine police calls. He said the regular police number is 698-2525.
Mr. Poindexter said he was heating up some grease on the stove when some of the grease spilled under the stove eye and burst into flames. Mr. Poindexter said he tried to carry the burning pan out of the kitchen, but the flames were too intense, and he had to get out of the house.
The Chattanooga Fire Department received the alarm at 6:31 p.m. and responded with four fire companies to 1700 E. 12th St. Flames were blowing out the kitchen window and a couple of other windows in adjacent rooms when the first firefighters arrived on the scene.
Captain David Thompson Jr. with Quint 2 said the firefighters entered the house to make an interior attack, but the heat and flames were too intense and they had to back out.
Battalion Chief Winston Shields said the firefighters then concentrated their efforts on suppressing the fire from the outside, and protecting nearby houses. Chief Shields said two additional fire companies were called in to provide additional assistance on the scene. Once the flames were under control, the firefighters once again entered the structure to put out the remaining hot spots.
Mr. Poindexter said he burned his hands while trying to put out the fire, but he reportedly refused to be transported to a local hospital by Hamilton County EMS. No other injuries were reported.
Mr. Poindexter's fiancée, Connie Rollins, was not home at the time of the fire. Volunteers with the American Red Cross were called in to provide assistance to the victims.
Chattanooga police and Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue also provided assistance on the scene.