A 72-year-old man was taken to a local hospital for smoke inhalation after a kitchen fire started in his Whiteside Faith Manor Apartment around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Oscar Kilby was frying fish when his wife, 92-year-old Afonda Kilby, saw a blaze shoot from the stove and across the kitchen cabinets while sitting in her bedroom with her goddaughter, Glenda Pitts.
The pan was on fire and within seconds the smoke got so thick that they could hardly see.
“It was too much to put out,” said Afonda Kilby.
All three people inside the apartment left on their own.
Oscar Kilby, who already suffered from COPD and congestive heart failure, went to the hospital for further treatment.
Other people were treated for smoke inhalation but refused to go to the hospital, said Battalion Chief Chris Willmore, with the Chattanooga Fire Department.
He said the fire was contained to the kitchen stove area. The fire department evacuated the fifth floor until it was cleared of smoke. More than two dozen residents waited in the lobby and outside during the evacuation and were eventually allowed to return to their apartments.
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.