10-12-19 Fire destroys entire apartment building

Tri-State Mutual Aid provided fire coverage in the city as companies on the scene worked to get the fire under control. The Red Cross assisted impacted residents.

The cause is under investigation.

No firefighters were injured.

Sixteen apartments burned and the 1800 building is a total loss.

EPB, CPD, Hamilton County EMS, the 911 Incident Dispatch Unit and Chattanooga/Hamilton County Rehab Unit provided support on the scene.

Our thoughts are with those residents who lost their homes.

Thanks to CPD officers for helping get families safely out of the building as firefighters rushed to the scene.

The fire appears to be accidental at this time, but the exact cause is undetermined and it is still under investigation.

Several pets, including dogs and a rabbit, died in the fire.

Approximately 50 firefighters were on scene for hours.

One resident was treated for smoke inhalation at the hospital and later released.

The blaze started in an apartment on the lower level and the flames spread to the breezeway. The fire extended to the attic space and then to the rest of the building.

Due to structural damage and in order to fully extinguish the fire, the building had to be demolished.

CFD crews successfully stopped the flames from spreading to other nearby buildings in the apartment complex.