A fire at the Volkswagen plant was quickly extinguished Tuesday morning
The Chattanooga Fire Department and Volkswagen’s Safety Forces worked together to battle a fire in the body shop of the company’s massive plant Tuesday morning. There were no serious injuries and the blaze was quickly extinguished.
The call came out at 8:46 a.m. to the facility on Volkswagen Drive. Reports from VW’s Fire Department were that there was an active fire on one line in the body shop. A second alarm was called by CFD to bring additional companies to the scene, along with more EMS units. The plant was immediately evacuated for the safety of employees.
Crews found that a conveyor belt in a confined space had caught fire. It was very hot with the machinery in that area of the plant. Volkswagen’s Fire Department needed extra manpower and extra hose for a solid water supply and CFD was there to assist.
Firefighters encountered heavy smoke, but the natural ventilation from the bay doors allowed them to have some visibility so they could spot the fire. They made an attack with VW’s Fire Department and had the flames under control by 9:16 a.m. They then monitored hot spots.
Ventilation fans were used to clear smoke out of the large building and booms helped prevent water runoff into other areas of the structure. Cleanup took some time following the successful joint firefighting operation.
Seven workers were treated for minor smoke inhalation on the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Assembly operations at Volkswagen have been suspended for the rest of the day.
Responding companies/agencies included: Volkswagen Fire Department, CFD Squad 7, Ladder 7, Quint 6, Engine 15, Quint 21, Ladder 13, Quint 8, Squad 13, Engine 4, Quint 16, Engine 11, Ladder 19, Squad 19, Quint 10, Battalion 2, Battalion 3 (Green Shift), multiple Hamilton County EMS units and command staff, CFD’s command staff, CFD’s Special Operations Division, Chattanooga Hamilton County Rescue’s Rehabilitation Unit, CFD Supply and Hamilton County 911’s Incident Dispatch Unit.
CFD officials said they appreciate the Tri-State Mutual Aid partners for filling in at the fire halls to make sure there was fire coverage in the city while units were on the scene.
The Volkswagen’s team was incredibly helpful, even making sure firefighters had plenty of water, said CFD officials. The CFD and VW’s Fire Department have trained together for these types of events for years, making for a smooth operation.
"These types of fires are extremely dangerous. Life hazard is our primary concern with so many employees working there. We rely heavily on Volkswagen's team for accountability and they do a great job with that," said Fire Chief Phil Hyman. "Time is everything for us in these situations so having an on-site fire department is a huge help. Our relationship with VW is strong and we worked very well together."
The sprinklers on the line in the body shop that was impacted went off and kept the fire from spreading. The CFD's radios were fully operational inside the plant and firefighters could effectively communicate during the entire response.