An off-duty Chattanooga firefighter went door-to-door at an apartment complex Sunday morning, alerting residents about a fire that is believed to have started after a woman fell asleep smoking in bed.
There were no injuries in the early morning blaze at the Hamilton Pointe Apartments at 6574 East Brainerd Road. The fire was contained to the woman's apartment, according to a news release.
The fire department was called to the complex at 5:06 a.m. Six companies came racing to the fire.
But one of their comrades was already on the scene.
Off-duty captain Wadie Suttles, who lives in the complex, had been knocking on doors, telling his neighbors about the fire, which was on the second floor of the building. All of the building's residents were outside when the trucks pulled up.
Residents were allowed back into their apartments when the fire was out and the air quality was deemed normal. The cause was ruled accidental. The woman told firefighters she had fallen asleep smoking.