Fire tileA mattress placed too close to a wall heater may have caused a Sunday morning house fire at 3202 Curtis St., according to a Chattanooga Fire Department news release.
No one was injured but the fire destroyed a front bedroom in the house.
Steven Adams, 54, who lived in the home, stood outside when firefighters arrived around 6:20 a.m. Sunday. He told firefighters he was asleep in a different room when heavy smoke from the front bedroom woke him. He saw a mattress was on fire in the front bedroom and closed the door to keep the fire from spreading.
Fire Capt. David Brooks said firefighters with Engine 4 entered the one-story home through the unlocked front door and observed fire in the first bedroom. They also removed a portion of the ceiling in the bedroom to check for fire using a thermal imaging camera.
The house’s wiring was damaged so EPB removed the meter to the house. Volunteers with the American Red Cross of Southeast Tennessee provided assistance to Adams.