Three people were able to escape a burning trailer at Ooltewah, though a woman suffered burns on Sunday morning.
The Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department at 5 a.m. responded to a 911 call reporting a structure fire in a trailer behind 9502 Oak St. The first arriving engine company reported the trailer to be fully involved. Several more engine companies arrived within minutes, but they could not save the trailer which burned to the ground very quickly. The trailer and its contents were totally destroyed.
The homeowner reported that she was asleep in her bedroom with her 17-year-old daughter when they awoke to flames. She tried to douse the fire with water but, according to her, this just made the fire worse.
She suffered minor burns to the arms and face and burned her hair in the attempt to extinguish the fire. The homeowner and her daughter, along with the daughter's 18-month-old child, then fled the trailer and dialed 911. The homeowner refused medical treatment. There were no other injuries reported.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
Firefighters also had to battle the cold with temperatures hovering in the upper teens and low twenties and wind chills in the single digits.
The homeowner, Lisa Suggs, reported that she had no insurance and no job. She said she and her daughter lost everything. They have no clothes for themselves or the baby and not even a baby bottle or food for the child, she said.