Fires damage 3 area homes in a single day

Three homes were damaged by fires in the Chattanooga area on Saturday, according to the Hamilton County Office of Emergency Management and Chattanooga Fire Department.

The Dallas Bay Volunteer Fire Department responded to the first fire, in a mobile home at 1151 Leonard Lane, around 11:50 a.m. They found smoke pouring through the roof and fire in the living room area. Firefighters managed to establish a water line to the residence and quickly extinguish the flames.

Officials determined the fire started from an unattended candle burning in the living room. Since there were not any windows open, the fire was unable to grow due the lack of oxygen. Despite the fire being contained to the living room area, the home received significant smoke and water damage. No injuries were reported and the homeowner was not home during the incident.

Another fire started around 1 p.m. in a home in the 1600 block of Mary Dupre Drive. Firefighters arrived at the scene to find heavy fire and smoke at one end of the residence and fought to contain the blaze for about 35 minutes. No one was found inside the residence, and no injuries were reported. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.

A third fire began at around 2:30 p.m. at 2039 Oak Street on Signal Mountain. Fire was reported to be spilling through the roof, which had partially collapsed. Firefighters managed to control the blaze, which was determined to have started in the chimney. The house was deemed a total loss. No one was home at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported.