Chattanooga firefighters responded to 1400 Madison Street late Tuesday night on a water flow alarm at Tennessee Plywood and found a major fire.
Upon arrival, fire crews found the largest of Tennessee Plywood's three buildings involved in fire. The 40,000 square foot building houses building material storage and a door shop, according to one of the owners, Richard Keene.
Due to the nature of this building's use, Chattanooga firefighters quickly called a second alarm giving a total of 12 fire companies on the scene.
The building's sprinkler system held the fire in check while firefighters began an aggressive attack. "Trench cut" ventilation also helped firefighters gain control. This type of ventilation is a strip cut from a portion of the roof and is used to help stop the advance of a growing fire. The fire was under control in just over an hour.
Officials on Wednesday said the cause of the fire has been ruled accidental. Apparently, lightning struck a portion of the roof igniting structural members in the roof, it was stated. The fire then ignited some of the stored building supplies and grew from that point, eventually activating eight sprinkler heads and the alarm system.
Battalion Chief Mack Moore, the on scene Incident Commander, said, "The firefighters did an excellent job in stopping this fire before more damage occurred." The fire loss is being estimated at $75,000 on the property, and $100,000 on the contents. The building and contents' combined values are estimated at $1.75 million.