News Releases

CFD had a residential fire out in five minutes on E 17th Street Thursday morning.

It happened at 11:30 AM at a duplex in the 1400 block. Responding crews spotted black smoke coming from the structure. All of the residents were outside.

On one side of the duplex, firefighters found a small fire in the living room and launched a quick attack.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. There were no injuries.

Squad 13, Ladder 5, Squad 1, Quint 1, Ladder 1, Engine 5, Engine 9, Battalion 1, Battalion 2, CPD, EPB and HCEMS responded.

Lt. Greg Smith received the First Responder Hero award from the American Red Cross of Southeast Tennessee for his outstanding leadership, including his actions on the night of the 2020 Easter tornado.

Lt. Smith and the crew from Quint 21 were the first to truly respond to the disaster area and mitigated emergencies prior to overall operations being established. They began searching homes in East Brainerd, getting people who had lost their houses into shelters and getting the injured stabilized and moved to where they could be quickly located and taken to the hospital. He did this without the ability to call for additional help over the overtaxed radio system.

Smith and the others combed an extremely large area by themselves before anyone else got there, walking through numerous hard-hit areas. They found an 84-year-old patient with a badly broken leg and treated her. With the help of some Chattanooga police officers, the team removed a door from the woman’s home, placed her on it and carried her out of the rubble on the door for more than a mile to get her help. Then they went right back to searching more areas and aiding more storm victims. Smith continued working until his crew was relieved many hours later.

“It was a unique situation. I rely on faith and trust in God to get us through it and then our training kicks in. I give credit to the incredible team of people around me,” he said, grateful and humbled by the award.

His fellow firefighters praised Smith’s his work ethic, his honesty and fairness, his attention to detail, his kindness and genuine compassion, and his dedication to the job and his community. Congratulations, Lt. Smith!

The American Red Cross Virtual Heroes Event is scheduled for Thursday, November 19 at 7p.m. Event Sponsorships are currently available by contacting Julia Wright at the American Red Cross at julia.wright@redcross.org. 

Chattanooga firefighters had their work cut out for them Saturday afternoon as they battled a second-alarm fire in East Brainerd that destroyed a family’s house.

It happened at 3 PM at a home in the 400 block of Osborne Drive.

When the first units arrived, they found a fully involved fire in the area of the carport. Flames quickly spread to the rest of the house.

They started an interior attack, but firefighters were pulled out of the burning structure for safety reasons and a defensive operation was initiated.

The fire moved into the attic and crews spent a considerable amount of time working to get it out.

No one was injured. Residents were all out of the home and safe. The cause of the fire will be under investigation.

Those in command of the incident said there was a quick response by all companies. Crews rotated in and out so they could take breaks in between attacking the fire.

“This was a strenuous job, especially in this heat, but everyone did an excellent job on the scene. Of course, we hate it for the residents when we have to come out in something like this,” said Battalion Chief Don Bowman.

Quint 21, Quint 6, Quint 8, Quint 13, Squad 13, Squad 7, Battalion 2, Battalion 3, CPD, HCEMS, Chattanooga/Hamilton County Rehab Truck, EPB and CFD Supply were on the scene. Mutual aid helped provide coverage at several of our stations while CFD worked the fire. Thanks to Highway 58, East Ridge and Tri-Community. The American Red Cross was contacted to assist the residents.

On Labor Day, Chattanooga firefighters successfully located a man in the Tennessee River downtown.

Fireboat 1, Ladder 1, Battalion 1 and Battalion 3 were dispatched to reports of someone yelling for help and possibly in the river at 10:45 PM.

Crews met with CPD on 19th Street at the Riverwalk and crews were dispatched to different locations to check the area in an attempt to locate the person who needed assistance.

CFD’s fireboat was assigned to check the eastern shoreline from Main Street south to the Chattanooga Creek and they were able to find the party in the water around 11:25 PM using a search light. He was on the north side of the Tennessee River bank, but still in the water. They used a throw rope to retrieve him and brought him aboard the boat.

At Ross’s Landing, the 45-year-old man met with TWRA and HCEMS, but he refused treatment from paramedics. It's unclear how he ended up in the water.

CFD units then returned to service.