2 women rescued in separate house fires
Two women were rescued from separate house fires in less than 24 hours over the weekend in Chattanooga.
One woman was not seriously injured while the other was expected to be taken to the burn unit at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, according to news releases.
Just before 5 a.m. Sunday, Chattanooga firefighters were called to a home in the 2000 block of Windsor Street where a fire had broken out in the kitchen and filled the house with smoke.
One resident was already outside and told Chattanooga police officers on the scene that a woman still was inside. The officers tried to locate the woman, but smoke forced them to leave after searching only one bedroom.
Firefighters arrived soon after and used a thermal imaging camera to find the woman. Firefighter George Johnson found her unconscious on the floor about eight feet from a side door exit.
Johnson, along with the help of his fellow firefighters, carried the woman out of the house. She was rushed to a local hospital, but was taken to Nashville for further treatment.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, officials said.
Saturday around 3:50 p.m., firefighters were called to a home in the 2000 block of Hardy Street after an automatic fire alarm went off.
Three Chattanooga police officers, who were gathered nearby, were told by a passerby that the home was on fire. The three police officers arrived at the house just before firefighters, and were told by neighbors someone was still inside.
The officers opened the front door and encountered waist-high thick, black smoke. They ducked down and saw Ernestine Miller a few feet away inside and struggling to get out, officials said.
The officers quickly grabbed the 79-year-old woman and pulled her out to the front yard.
Firefighters arrived shortly after and were able to extinguish the fire within 10 minutes.
Miller was not seriously injured but was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.
The fire broke out in the front bedroom. The cause of the fire is still undetermined, but is likely to be accidental.