News Releases

A fire at a downtown homeless camp left a woman with serious burns on Wednesday night. On 2/2/2022 at 10 PM, Chattanooga firefighters were dispatched on a call involving a burn victim at 1503 Middle Street. The victim is homeless and was brought to a restroom at the Chattanooga River Park on Middle Street. Responding firefighters helped HCEMS load the patient. The victim was burned in a tent up the river walk a few hundred feet away at a homeless encampment in a vacant lot beside the walk. She was transported to the hospital and firefighters proceeded to the tent to extinguish what remained of the fire. The cause of the incident is under investigation. The victim sustained burns to 15% of her body, including her back, the back of her arms and both feet. Her burns were severe enough for her to be sent to a burn unit in Georgia for further treatment. The victim indicated to investigators that she was startin a warming fire in her tent at the time of the incident. The fire quickly got away from her and spread throughout the tent, leaving her with burns and destroying hr belongings and her home.

The Chattanooga Fire Department and Erlanger Health System are working together to put a spotlight on National Burn Awareness Week (February 6-12, 2022). The theme for this year’s campaign- “Burning Issues in the Kitchen!” - was selected to help prevent scald burns and distracted cooking. Nearly half (47%) of all home fires are caused by cooking. National Burn Awareness Week, an initiative of the American Burn Association, is a coming together of burn, fire and life safety educators to make the public aware of the frequency, devastation and causes of burn injury as well as consistent and authoritative measures to prevent these injuries and how to best care for those who are injured. Erlanger and CFD officials spoke to the media on Thursday to discuss this important topic and provide life-saving information to the public. Regena Young, the Outreach and Injury Prevention Coordinator with Trauma Services at Erlanger, was joined by CFD Deputy Chief of Operations Rick Boatwright, who is the IAFF 14^th District Burn Coordinator. Firefighter Allen Green, the CFD’s Fire & Life Safety Educator, also spoke with media representatives.

In 2021, the Chattanooga Fire Department worked more than 200 structure fires, including 67 cooking-related fires. Erlanger treated 348 patients for burns in varying severities in 2021 through the health system’s seven emergency departments. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), US fire departments responded to an estimated average of 172,900 home structure fires per year started by cooking activities in 2014-2018. These fires caused an average of 550 civilian deaths, 4,820 reported civilian fire injuries, and more than $1 billion in direct property damage per year. Ranges or cooktops were involved in 61% of reported home cooking fires, 87% of cooking fire deaths and 78% of cooking fire injuries. Unattended cooking was the leading cause of cooking fires and casualties. More than one-quarter of the people killed by cooking fires were sleeping at the time. More than half of the non-fatal injuries occurred when people tried to control the fire themselves.

Burn prevention efforts can be combined with fire prevention efforts to reduce cooking-related burns. Here are some important safety tips:

Never leave the stove unattended!
Stay alert! The best time to cook is when you are wide awake, not drowsy.
Prevent splatter burns! Use a pan lid to prevent splatter burns.
Dress appropriately when cooking. Wear short or close-fitting sleeves.
Keep your stovetop clear. Always wipe clean the stove, oven and exhaust fan to prevent grease buildup.
Keep children safe in the kitchen. Have a “kid-free zone” of at least three feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.
Monitor your appliances. After cooking, check the kitchen to make sure all burners and other appliances are turned off.

Burn injuries continue to be one of the leading causes of accidental death and injury in our nation. Tragically, children, the elderly, and the disabled are especially vulnerable to burn injuries. Annually, in the United States, approximately 400,000 people receive medical care for treatment of burn injuries. In 2018 alone, there were 3,655 deaths from fire and smoke inhalation and another 40,000 people were treated in hospitals for burn related injuries. The primary causes of injury include fire-flame, scalds, contact with hot objects, electrical and chemicals. Most of the injuries occur in the home. Today, 96.8% of those who suffer burn injuries will survive. Unfortunately, many of those survivors will sustain serious scarring, life-long physical disabilities, and adjustment difficulties. Burn safety education and prevention efforts continue to reduce the number of people who suffer burns each year. Many people devote their lives and careers to treating, caring for, supporting and rehabilitating burn injury survivors, including those performing vital work in burn research and development. There are dedicated firefighters who risk their own lives every day to protect others, as well as burn foundations and other life safety professionals who promote burn injury awareness and prevention.

burn awareness presser

The Chattanooga Fire Department has had numerous break-ins at our fire stations involving firefighters’ personal vehicles. We are asking the public to be aware and alert. Please help us protect our fire halls and our firefighters’ property. Most recently, firefighters battling a large house fire this week in Highland Park were targeted. It was an added burden on an already stressful shift. It seems that the culprits are waiting for the crews to leave on calls and then burglarizing firefighters’ cars and trucks. Windows have been smashed and personal items stolen. The Chattanooga Police Department is investigating the crimes. If you see something at your neighborhood fire station, please call 911 to report any suspicious activity. If you have any information on these cases, call CPD at 423-698-2525. You can also submit an anonymous tip on the CPD mobile app.

Firefighter car breakins

Several people were taken to the hospital after a dangerous incident involving extremely high carbon monoxide levels at a construction site in East Brainerd. At 10:25 AM on Thursday, CFD Green Shift companies were called to 6698 Palms Court for reports of two people overcome by CO. Apartments are currently being built at that location. The workers had heaters set up inside and outside of the building and a few of those heaters malfunctioned, putting CO into the structure. Firefighters found two workers unresponsive when they arrived and immediately began treating the patients with oxygen. Hamilton County EMS also responded and helped with patient care as CFD crews went inside to search the entire building for more workers. They found that a number of construction employees were still working, unaware of what was happening. The whole structure was evacuated. Firefighters wore their full gear to conduct the rescues, including their SCBA masks, to protect them from the high levels of CO. According to fire officials on the scene, they detected levels at 540 parts per million on gas monitors. The safe amount of CO is zero. Every worker on the site was checked- around 40 individuals. Four of them were transported to the hospital with high CO levels. One worker was treated on the scene. The structure was thoroughly ventilated. Tennessee OSHA will be investigating the incident.

CO poisonings

A juvenile is accused of setting merchandise on fire in Sam’s Club Wednesday night as the store was full of customers. Thankfully, a vigilant shopper spotted what was happening and made sure the flames didn’t spread inside the crowded business. At 6:41 PM, CFD Blue Shift companies responded to Sam’s at 6101 Lee Highway and learned that someone in the store- a juvenile- set some mattresses and pillows on fire. A customer spotted it and put the fire out with his coat. Management was notified and called 911. Firefighters made sure the fire was fully extinguished. The juvenile suspect was arrested and charged with Aggravated Arson and Vandalism. He was taken to a juvenile detention center. At Sam’s Club, there was minimal damage to merchandise only and there were no injuries.

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