A fire was reported at 3810 Deerfoot Dr. early Tuesday morning.
Theodore Herndon and his wife were asleep in their upstairs bedroom when their smoke alarm activated shortly after midnight. When they discovered that their home was on fire, they safely got out of the house and called 911.
The Chattanooga Fire Department responded with four fire companies. Upon arrival, Captain David Peace with Quint 6 could see a fully involved garage fire, with flames spreading quickly into the house and into the attic.
Captain Peace said the firefighters attempted an interior attack with hand-held hoselines, but when flames broke through the roof, the firefighters were ordered out of the house for their own safety.
The firefighters switched to a defensive firefighting operation as Quint 6 raised its aerial to use its master stream on the fire. After the majority of the fire was extinguished, the firefighters made another interior attack and finished putting the fire out. No injuries were reported.
The displaced couple said they had family and friends to stay with while their house is repaired. An estimate on the dollar loss to the home was not available. In addition to the house, fire destroyed two cars in the garage, valued together at $87,000. A third car in the driveway had some minor damage from the radiant heat.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.