CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Monday, July 27,2009 - 11:00 pm - City of Chattanooga
Firefighters were dispatched to a possible fire at a warehouse on the corner
of Wilder Avenue and Elmendorf Street. When the first crews arrived on scene
they reported a two story commercial structure with heavy involvement.
Firefighters quickly started establishing a water supply and attack efforts.
Within seconds, due to the obvious size of the building and the fire, a
second alarm was dispatched to the scene to assist with firefighting
efforts.Fire crews battled the fire
from the outside with several aerial ladders and master streams. within
minutes the decade old building was fully engulfed, sending flames barreling
into the night sky. As several additional fire engines arrived on the scene,
firefighters set up all around the perimeter of the structure, dumping
thousands of gallons of water on the raging blaze.
Witnesses said the flames and smoke were
so intense they could be seen for miles. One witness said from the downtown
Chattanooga area it looked as if the sun was rising due to the bright glow
of the flames. Luckily the building had been vacant for a number of years
and nobody worked in it, so thankfully there were no injuries as a direct
result of the building burning.
Firefighters at the scene battled the fire
through the night and some of the firefighters event compared this blaze to
the Mill and Mine fire on Signal Mountain Blvd in December of 2004. Although
this was a large building, it still did not have the same fuel load as the
fire in 2004. Crews were finally able to clear up operations the next
morning after knocking the remains of the building down. A cause of the fire
is still under investigation.
Story and photos by Bill Carson
