A fire damaged a home's porch at Lookout Valley Tuesday morning.
When fire broke out on Connie White’s front porch, she was not sure what she should do. She tried putting the fire out with pans of water, but that did not work, so she called 911 for help. The Chattanooga Fire Department received the alarm at 7:41 a.m. and responded to 4021 Kellys Ferry Road with several fire companies.
Firefighters with Quint 3 were the first to arrive. Battalion Chief Lesley Morgan said the fire on the porch was not huge, but it apparently kept Ms. White from walking past it. So Senior Firefighter Carl Ellis walked inside the house, picked up Ms. White, and carried her out past the fire and on down the long driveway to an ambulance to be checked out. She was not injured.
Chief Morgan said the firefighters used a single handheld hoseline to quickly put the fire out. The flames did not get into the house. The loss was estimated at roughly $5,000. Ms. White was able to return to her home after firefighters made sure the fire was out.
The cause of the fire will be ruled accidental. Ms. White told Chief Morgan that she dumped her cigarette butts into a trash bag and placed it on the front porch Monday night. Chief Morgan said it was likely that some of the cigarette butts were not extinguished, resulting in the fire that broke out Tuesday morning. Chattanooga police and Hamilton County EMS also provided assistance.