A firefighter spotted a fire while biking to work early Friday morning, according to Bruce Garner, Chattanooga Fire Department public information director.
Capt. Jonathan Lehman was riding his bicycle about 6:30 a.m. to start his shift at Fire Station 1 when he saw smoke coming from Chattanooga Woodworking Academy in the 1600 block of Market Street. Lehman says he sped up to get to the station, located a few blocks away on East Main Street.
Lehman alerted his fellow firefighters at the station, as well as 911, and all four fire companies responded to the scene.
The building was unoccupied when firefighters arrived on the scene and they had to force their way in to get to the fire. They put out the fire in less than 10 minutes.
The fire was contained to the shop area and no injuries were reported.
Fire investigators say the fire started in a barrel containing wood chips and oily shop rags. What sparked the blaze remains undetermined, but the cause of the fire has been ruled accidental.