11-04-2013 Firefighters Put Out Fire at DeButts Yard

The smoke could be seen for miles and as the calls poured into Dispatch, the source of the smoke was located at DeButts Yard. The Chattanooga Fire Department responded with six fire companies to the south end of the rail-yard, near 3rd Street.

Jeff Chandler, manager of the locomotive shop at DeButts Yard, said two contract workers with Richard Brown Construction were using cutting torches to demolish a "trouble-shooting shed" (see photos). Apparently sparks from the cutting torches fell into a pit below, which contained a mix of oil, grease and diesel fuel. Flames erupted in the pit and the air filled with smoke. As Chattanooga firefighters arrived on the scene, one of the workers was stranded temporarily on top of the shed. He said the wind was pushing the flames away from him, but he was relieved when a coworker got a bucket lift truck to get him down.

Meantime, Captain John Long with Quint 2 said the firefighters used hand-held hoselines to spray Class B foam on the fuel-fed fire. It took roughly 15 minutes to get the blaze under control. No one was injured, and since the shed was being demolished anyway, the fire caused no property damage.

Chattanooga police, Hamilton County EMS and Norfolk Southern Railway personnel provided valuable assistance on the scene.