A Chattanooga man is accused of setting his family’s East Lake house on fire out of anger Wednesday night.
The Chattanooga Fire Department's Engine 9, Engine 5, Ladder 5, Quint 1, Squad 1, Battalion 1 and Battalion 3 Blue Shift responded at 8:15 p.m. to a reported residential structure fire in the 2800 block of E 26th Street. Engine 9 arrived on the scene with moderate to heavy smoke coming from an open door.
All occupants were out of the house. Crews made an interior fire attack through the front door and conducted a primary search with nothing found. Firefighters found a fire in the living room area. They made an aggressive attack and extinguished the fire very quickly. Then they ventilated the residence to remove the smoke.
The fire was contained to the room of origin and there were no injuries. The American Red Cross was contacted to assist two displaced adults.
A fire investigator responded to the scene and determined that the fire was intentionally set. Tychius Johnson, 27, was arrested and charged with aggravated arson in the case.
According to investigators, Johnson and his brother were home on Wednesday night when he had a phone conversation with his mother that made him mad. He threatened to burn the house and then set a couch on fire. His brother overheard the conversation, saw the fire when he came out of his room and then safely exited the structure as he waited for the fire department to arrive.