Chattanooga firefighters battled a house fire early Sunday morning that left one entrapped resident dead, while another person and two pets escaped the flames.
A passerby reported seeing flames coming from a home on the 3400 block of Wilcox Boulevard at 4:42 a.m., according to a Chattanooga Fire Department news release.
By the time firefighters arrived, heavy flames were coming from the back of the house, and the first and second attempted searches were cut short due to safety concerns as fire conditions worsened, the release states.
When search attempts failed, the department moved to a defensive attack to fight the fire, which was designated as under control at 6:45 a.m.
The fire department first reported that one person and two dogs had safely gotten out of the house, and the city's public works department was enroute to help tear through the structure with heavy equipment to search for an unaccounted-for person. But, as the department announced on its Twitter page at 8:53 a.m., the second person was later found deceased in his bedroom.
The identity of the victim was not released.
Update: Deceased fire victim has been located in Wilcox Blvd house fire, confirmed fatality. Their identity is not being released at this time. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Another resident and two dogs are safe. CFD offers sincere condolences to victim’s family. pic.twitter.com/PrqngMAJ9J
— Chattanooga FireDept (@ChattFireDept) October 25, 2020
The home was considered a total loss, as the fire consumed the back of the structure and ran across the second floor, damaging the entire structure, according to the fire department. Firefighters helped the surviving resident go through belongings before completely knocking down the building to ensure the fire was completely extinguished.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, and residents are asked to use caution traveling in the area as fire hoses are on the ground.