08-14-15 More Than a Dozen Families Displaced by Apartment Fire

The Chattanooga Fire Department received the alarm at 10:33 p.m. and responded to Hidden Creek Apartments at 7710 E. Brainerd Road with six fire companies. The apartment complex is just around the corner from Station 21 on East Brainerd Road. When firefighters from that station arrived on the scene, they observed a significant amount of fire coming from the third floor of the apartment building. Seeing the magnitude of the fire, a second alarm was requested to bring in six additional fire companies.

All of the occupants were in the process of evacuating the building when the firefighters arrived. Eyewitnesses saw a woman leap from a third story window with a child in her arms. Both were injured and transported by Hamilton County EMS to a local hospital. Fire investigators are still trying to confirm those eyewitness reports.

The firefighters initially tried to attack the fire from the inside of the apartment building, and on the roof, but the fire continued to spread through the attic and flames eventually broke through the roof. At that point, Battalion Chief Fredrick Blake ordered the firefighters out of the building for their own safety. It took roughly 50 firefighters more than an hour to get the blaze under control. An estimate on the dollar loss was not available, but the damage was extensive and a number of apartment units were totally destroyed.

Management with the apartment complex told firefighters that everyone who lived in the 24 units in the building were accounted for. The American Red Cross of Southeast Tennessee responded to the scene with a team of staff and volunteers to provide assistance to the victims displaced by the fire. Jamie Lewis, disaster program manager with the Red Cross, said a shelter was being set up at the E. Brainerd Church of Christ, located across the street from the apartment complex. Lewis said most of the families are expected to stay with family or friends, but he said three or four families may use the shelter for a day or two.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Chattanooga police, Hamilton County EMS, EPB and Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue also provided valuable assistance on the scene.

* Additional updates will be provided when new information becomes available.