A large house in East Brainerd suffered extensive fire damage on Friday afternoon.
Chattanooga firefighters responded to the house fire shortly after 4 p.m. at 1706 Estrellita Circle.
Battalion Chief Winston Shields said smoke was pouring out two windows from one corner of the house on the first floor as the first firefighters arrived on the scene.
The fire was beginning to penetrate into the second floor before the firefighters were able to get the blaze under control. Chief Shields said most of the fire damage was contained to the room where the fire started. No injuries were reported.
Lt. Anthony Moore with the Fire Investigation Division said the fire appears to have started in the vicinity of a real, cut Christmas tree (as opposed to artificial).
However, exactly what started the fire is undetermined and under investigation. The loss was estimated at $170,000.