Fire at Chattanooga construction company originally thought to be a false alarm

photo Fire at A & M Construction. Photo contributed by Battalion Chief Rick Boatwright.
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7161 Lee Highway

7161 Lee Highway

Chattanooga firefighters stopped a fire at a construction company early this morning, according to a news release from the fire department.

Six fire companies were dispatched to A & M Construction Company at 7161 Lee Highway around 1 a.m. after an automatic fire alarm went off.

The first unit to arrive did not see fire or smoke, and notified 911 to cancel the call. Several minutes later, however, firefighters noticed smoke beginning to come from the front eaves of the building. The canceled call was reversed.

Firefighters located the fire in a work area toward the rear of the building and got it out in ten minutes. No injuries were reported.

Chief Rick Boatwright said the damages could have been much worse.

"This looked like a typical automatic alarm malfunction," he said in a release. "But the firefighters were thorough in their investigation... If they hadn't noticed the smoke and left, the whole building could have gone up in flames."

The loss was estimated to cost $30,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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