Firefighters work the scene of a fire on the 4300 block of 10th Avenue in East Lake on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. / Photo by Battalion Chief Brandon SchroyerShortly after a fire caused substantial damage to an East Lake home around 3 p.m. Friday, a female resident was arrested and charged with arson, according to a news release from the Chattanooga Fire Department.
A fire investigator concluded that one of the residents had deliberately caused the fire. Theresa Umbreit, 45, later confessed and said she had set fire to the house after a dispute with her husband. She was then arrested and transported to the Hamilton County Jail, the release states.
Some firefighters said they could see a huge plume of black smoke from several miles away. They arrived at the 4300 block of 10th Avenue to find flames shooting out both ends of the house, the release states.
Firefighters had initially been told that someone might still be inside the home, but no one was found and no injuries were reported.
It took firefighters around 30 minutes to get the fire under control after they first tried to to extinguish the flames inside. Due to the intense heat and flames, they backed out and used hoselines to prevent the fire from spreading to another house, according to the release.