Overlook Apt Aggravated Arson Arrest

A Chattanooga man is accused of setting fires in his apartment that endangered the lives of everyone in a downtown high-rise building. Lonnie Kaufmann, 57, has been charged with aggravated arson in connection with a fire at The Overlook Apartments on Boynton Drive that occurred on Sunday, December 26, 2021. According to CFD investigators, there were two separate fires in Kaufmann’s apartment that were intentionally set by the suspect. Kaufmann suffered minor smoke inhalation and was transported to the hospital. He was treated and released and taken to the Silverdale Detention Center. His aggravated arson charge stems from the fact that the fires were set in an occupied structure and put other residents’ safety at risk. On 12/26/21 at 12:44 PM, Blue Shift companies were dispatched to 1201 Boynton Drive to the Overlook Apartments for a commercial fire alarm. Crews arrived at the high-rise residential structure and learned that the smoke alarm activation was coming from a unit on the second floor. CFD personnel proceeded up the stairwell and upon accessing the second floor, they found light smoke visible in the hallway. Firefighters found heavy smoke and low visibility in Kaufmann's apartment and located flames in the kitchen/dining area. They attacked the fire, knocking it down fast. It was out by 1:07 PM. Ventilation was performed until all smoke was cleared from the structure. Air monitoring was conducted to ensure that it was safe for occupants to return to their apartments. As this was going on, other firefighters conducted evacuation/shelter-in-place efforts, evacuating occupants on floors two and three and sheltering non-ambulatory residents in place. They also checked on residents on floors 3 through 8. High-rise fire responses are very labor intensive and firefighters and investigators did an excellent job covering all bases. Fortunately, there were no other injuries in this incident.

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