News Releases

After hours of searching, two people lost inside an extensive cave were located! A large-scale search and rescue operation was underway for two missing men at the base of Lookout Mountain. Crews from Chattanooga and Hamilton County were looking for Gabriel Vaughn, 21, and Robby Dobos, 23. It was a complex operation due to the location as crews braved dark and dangerous conditions in an effort to find these two friends. Gabriel and Robby were last seen around 8pm Monday night when the two left to go explore caves. When they did not return, friends and family members became concerned and reported them missing to police. Then they started searching for them in different locations. Friends ended up locating Gabriel’s car in the parking lot of Walgreens on Broad Street around 4:30 Tuesday afternoon. They believed the two men were in nearby caves and went to look for them. When they did not find Gabriel and Robby, they contacted authorities and a search operation was launched. The cave is not open to the public for exploring. Drone operations went across the outside of the mountain searching and nothing was found. Teams thoroughly looked for the men down inside the cave. CFD, CPD, HCSTARs, HCOEM, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue Service, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Norfolk Southern Police, HCEMS, Highway 58 VFD and the Hamilton County 911 Incident Dispatch Unit took part in the operation. At approximately 3:45 AM Wednesday, personnel with the Hamilton County Cave and Cliff team made contact with both missing men. They were found in the farthest known part of the cave and were assisted out.

The Chattanooga Fire Department wants to thank all of the agencies involved in the search and rescue. Tremendous collaboration by first responders once again saved lives. Several teams went into the multi-level cave which is closed to the public and owned by the railroad. It is bisected by an active train tunnel. Inside, it is easy to become disoriented and the two parties made a wrong turn, taking them further into the cave. They were finally located by personnel with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue Service approximately 1.5 miles inside the cave at 3:45 AM Wednesday. They were cold, wet and hungry as they were not properly equipped for the environment, but they were able to walk out on their own with no injuries. The evacuation took several hours. They were evaluated by Hamilton County EMS and refused transport to the hospital. Rescue crews were exhausted, but glad that both parties were safe. Eighty-two personnel were involved in the operation.

“We greatly appreciate the teamwork by everyone involved and the seamless incident command system,” said Chattanooga Fire Chief Phil Hyman. “This all could have been avoided if these individuals had made more responsible choices. It put the lives of all of our crews at risk and it was very labor intensive. But it showed the compassion and dedication of our first responders and volunteers and in this case, there was a positive outcome.”

Chattanooga firefighters rescued a woman from her burning Highland Park home early Sunday morning- a fire caused by a mishap with a candle. At 3:48 AM, Red Shift companies were called to a residential fire with entrapment in the 1800 block of E 4th Street. They found smoke showing from the front porch and side of the structure. Police officers reported that a party was hanging out of a second-story bathroom window in the back, unable to get out. Firefighters immediately went into rescue mode. They used ladders to get the woman out while other crews initiated fire attack. Another occupant had safely exited the home on her own and was outside on the CFD’s arrival. Firefighters continued working to extinguish the fire and had it under control in 30 minutes. The woman who was rescued was checked out by HCEMS and refused transport to the hospital. The accidental fire was caused by a candle that was burning in the bedroom and caught the woman’s nightgown on fire. She tried to put it out, causing the candle to dump over and igniting fire in the bedroom. She ran to the bathroom and that’s where she became trapped by the fire. Luckily, there were no injuries to the residents in this incident, but there was one pet fatality. Engine 5, Ladder 5, Engine 4, Squad 1, Ladder 1, Battalion 1, Battalion 2, HCEMS, EPB and CPD responded.

The Chattanooga Fire Department worked a second alarm commercial fire downtown late Friday night that is now under investigation. The call came out at 10:09 PM to a vacant building at 1810 East Martin Luther King Boulevard at the old Lamar’s Restaurant and Motel which has been abandoned for a number of years. The battalion chief for District 1 (Green Shift) was driving in the area and spotted smoke. He circled the block and saw fire showing from two windows on the side of the building. He called for a full commercial response and then a second alarm a few minutes later because of the size of the building. Crews arrived and made an aggressive interior attack. They located several fires on the first floor and extinguished them. The fire extended to the second floor and firefighters made another attack on that floor. Once they had the flames under control, they continued with overhaul and checked for any extension. Obstacles were created by the amount of debris and contents inside the building hoarded by homeless occupants who have been using the building as shelter. Searches were conducted and no one was found in the structure. There were no injuries. Green Shift crews on the scene meticulously worked through both floors to make sure the fire was fully extinguished. Tri-State Mutual Aid Association helped provide coverage at our fire halls, including assistance at a motor vehicle accident with entrapment.

A woman and several pets are safe after escaping a large house fire Wednesday morning that sent a plume of smoke into the air visible from across the area. A passerby called 911 around 11 AM to report that they were driving past a home in the 6600 block of Kenton Ridge Circle and saw that the residence was on fire. That’s in the Kenton Ridge subdivision in the Shallowford Road/Hickory Valley area. Multiple Green Shift companies responded and on arrival, they found heavy smoke coming from the back of the house. After further investigation, they also spotted flames and started attacking the fire. One crew attempted to go in the front, but they pulled back due to dangerous fire conditions. Once the flames went through the roof, command ordered an evacuation to protect the safety of firefighters. Crews launched a defensive operation due to concerns of structural collapse. Soon after, the roof did collapse. Extra companies were called to the scene to provide support. Aerial devices were used to fully extinguish the fire. One occupant and several pets safely exited the burning home. It appeared one of the dogs had suffered burns. The fire caused significant damage and the house is considered a total loss. Firefighters successfully protected neighbors’ nearby homes located on either side of the structure. One of the neighbors’ houses sustained minimal damage thanks to the hard work of the CFD units who worked this call. There were no injuries. The cause of the blaze is under investigation. Crews were on the scene for most of the day working the fire. The home ultimately had to be torn down due to unstable walls in close proximity to neighboring homes and in order to fully extinguish fire burning in the basement area of the strcuture. 

“All of our firefighters have done an outstanding job today. We did get the fire control rather quickly even with a defensive attack and protected both structures on each side,” said Captain Chris Fryar, Acting BC2.