Quick work by Chattanooga firefighters kept a small fire from turning into a blazing inferno at a downtown high-rise building late Thursday afternoon.
The Chattanooga Fire Department was dispatched to a reported fire in the Tallan Building at 200 W. MLK Boulevard at 5:47 p.m. The fire alarm system had activated and most of the employees in the building had already evacuated.
Battalion Chief Bob Dixon said there was a lot of smoke in the building and at first it was not easy to locate the fire. As some firefighters worked to make sure everyone was out of the building, Captain David Thompson Jr. and his fellow firefighters with Quint 2 searched the fourth floor. Using a thermal imaging camera, they located the fire in one of many offices on that floor.
Capt. Thompson said the fire was located near an aquarium and the flames were beginning to spread up the adjacent wall and onto the ceiling. The firefighters used two dry powder portable fire extinguishers to get the fire out. Capt. Thompson said most of the fire damage was contained to the area around the aquarium. The rest of the office had smoke and heat damage.
The fire generated a lot of smoke and firefighters afterward used high-powered fans to ventilate the building. The Tallan Building has 12 floors and a basement, and houses a number of law firms and financial businesses, including Merrill Lynch and Regions Bank.
Most of the employees had already left the building for the day. There were no reports of any injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Chattanooga police and Hamilton County EMS also provided assistance on the scene.