Six people escaped a house fire on 26th Street late Sunday morning.
At 11:40 a.m., a fire broke out in a residence at 2810 26th St. Three adults and three children were in the residence when the fire started. According to the occupants, food was cooking on the stove and had been left unattended. A fire ignited on the stove top and the occupants were alerted to the fire by the smell of smoke. They immediately evacuated the residence and called 911.
Two Chattanooga police officers were in the immediate area when the 911 call was dispatched and arrived on the scene right before the fire department. Upon their arrival, they attempted to extinguish the fire with portable fire extinguishers they had in their patrol cars. The officers stated that the fire was on the stove top and that after deploying the extinguishing agent, they saw that the flames were making their way up the wall behind the stove. At that point they determined that they could not do any more to stop the fire, so they exited the residence.
The Chattanooga Fire Department arrived on the scene right as the police officers were exiting the structure. A handline was deployed off one of the fire trucks and used to extinguish the fire. The fire was contained to the kitchen, in the area of the stove and the wall directly behind it. The electrical panel, which was on the wall behind the stove, sustained fire damage and was sparking when firefighters entered. In order to prevent any further fire damage, and to protect firefighters from electrocution, EPB was called to the scene to cut off all the electrical power to the residence by pulling the electrical meter.
The Red Cross was called to the scene to assist the residents with a temporary place to stay. Damage to the residence was estimated to be $5,000.