07-16-15 Fire Victims Transferred to Burn Center

Captain Andrew Waters with the Fire Investigation Division said there were four adults in the house when the fire broke out, including three women and one man. After the victims arrived at Erlanger, medical personnel there determined that the condition of three of the four victims was worse than initially reported, with three of them suffering from significant burns and smoke inhalation. Those three were transferred early this morning to the Wellstar Cobb Hospital in Austell, Georgia, which has opened a relatively new burn unit in collaboration with the Joseph M. Burn Center. The names of the victims are being withheld until relatives have been located and notified.

One of the women told firefighters that a smoke alarm woke her up, which enabled her to wake the others up to get out of the house. The dollar loss is estimated at $70,000 for the building and its contents. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

This is not the first time Chattanooga firefighters have been to this location, which has been described as a "halfway house." After a quick check though fire department records, Captain Waters said firefighters have responded to the same location on five other occasions dating back to October 27, 2014. Captain Anthony Moore is assisting with the investigation.