Mosaic Church which doubles as Club Fathom in Chattanooga.
James W. Whitmire, the fire marshal for the Chattanooga Fire DepartmentThe Mosaic Arts Venue will now be able to host only 100 people after a city inspection found it did not have enough exits and toilet facilities.
"He can only use the main floor on Market Street," said Chattanooga Fire Marshal James Whitmire.
The city's fire marshal and code inspector conducted a surprise inspection of the facility around noon. Whitmire said the venue, which hosts Mosaic church, has an occupancy of 1,903. He said for that amount of space there must be more exits and more toilet facilities.
The two-story building has two exits and six toilets, he said. One of the exits cannot be used because the area in front of it belongs to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, Whitmire said.
Mosaic is in the midst of controversy after a nearby shooting on Christmas Eve left at least nine people wounded.
The city has filed a request for an injunction against the church in Circuit Court to stop it from hosting a New Year's Eve party Saturday through its Club Fathom youth outreach program.
The hearing is scheduled for Friday.
For more information, read tomorrow's edition of the Times Free Press.