The initial alarm of a commercial fire at 1511 Williams Street was received at 5:01 p.m. When the first firefighters arrived on the scene, heavy smoke and fire was already showing from a building that contained an art studio and a cabinet-making shop.
With the flames continuing to spread rapidly, the incident commander called for a second alarm response at 5:14 p.m. to bring in an additional six fire companies. Captain David Tallent said the flames continued to spread, eventually breaking through the roof. At 6:15 p.m., incident command called for a 3rd alarm response to bring in an additional six fire companies.
Captain Tallent said the firefighting operation went into a defensive mode early on, due to the age of the building and the fact that the fire had broken through the roof. A total of 19 fire companies battled the flames for at least an hour before the bulk of the fire was brought under control. No injuries were reported.
Captain Tallent said the firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to a construction company business in an adjacent building, though it did have some water damage. The building with the art studio and cabinet shop had extensive damage. An estimate on the dollar loss was not available.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Chattanooga police, Hamilton County EMS, EPB and Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue provided assistance on the scene.
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