A 31-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fire that destroyed a Hixson house July 22, authorities said.
William Wilson was arrested and charged with theft over $20,000, aggravated burglary and arson, said Mack Moore with the Chattanooga Fire Department.
About 8:30 p.m. on July 22, firefighters from Station 19 in Hixson were dispatched to investigate "smoke in the area" in the woods behind the Food Lion on Hixson Pike, according to Bruce Garner, spokesman for the fire department. They discovered that the house at 6819 Big Ridge Road was burning, he said.
The home's driveway was too steep for the fire truck, Garner said, and the firefighters had to lay roughly 2,000 feet of hose to get to the nearest hydrant.
As firefighters forced their way inside, they found flames and intense heat throughout the interior of the three-story structure, he said. It took firefighters from six fire companies roughly an hour to get the blaze under control, Garner said, and damage was substantial.
Several firefighters had to be treated for heat exhaustion, he said.
The investigation behind the arrest was handled by members of the department's Fire Investigation Division and the Chattanooga Police Department, Moore said.