Chattanooga firefighters were busy with two different blazes on Tuesday morning.
The fire department received the first alarm at 12:13 a.m. and responded with several fire companies. Battalion Chief Mike Knox said the fire at 2414 Kirby St. appears to have started on the front porch, and then spread into the attic. Five adults and a two-year-old child lived in the house.
Chief Knox said some of the adults were going back inside the house, apparently to get some belongings, when the first firefighters arrived on the scene. Chief Knox said the firefighters had to forcibly keep the residents from going back inside for their own protection. None of the residents were injured, but one firefighter was treated and released from a local hospital for heat exhaustion.
The cause of the fire is undetermined and under investigation. The dollar loss was estimated at around $20,000. Volunteers with the American Red Cross were called in to provide assistance to the victims.
No injuries were reported in connection with an apartment fire at Rustic Village Apartments on Central Drive. The Chattanooga Fire Department received the alarm at 2:10 a.m. and responded with several fire companies.
Chief Knox said the fire appears to have started in a first-floor apartment, but no one was home at the time. A resident upstairs smelled smoke and called 911. Chattanooga firefighters and police officers were on the scene investigating and eventually discovered the fire in Apartment 1103.
All of the residents in the building were evacuated while the firefighters worked to extinguish the fire. The dollar loss was estimated at around $10,000. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.