Chattanooga firefighters were dispatched to a car fire at 501 Spruce Street shortly after 3 p.m. today, but when they arrived on the scene, they encountered not only a car fire but two house fires.
The car was located between houses at 501 and 511 Spruce St. There's approximately 15 feet between the two houses.
Capt. Jeff Eldridge, the incident commander, said that when the car caught fire, the flames spread almost simultaneously to the two houses.
Chattanooga firefighters initially tried an interior attack on the fire at 501 Spruce, but when the fire broke through the roof, Eldridge ordered the firefighters out.
The fire gutted the house.
Meantime, other firefighters succeeded in getting the fire under control at 511 Spruce. Most of that house was spared serious fire damage. Nine fire companies worked for more than an hour to get the fires under control.
No injuries were reported.
Fire investigators were called to the scene to confirm the cause of the car fire.
The fires displaced three residents. Volunteers with the American Red Cross were called into provide assistance to the victims, including a temporary place to stay and help with food, clothing and medicine.
Chattanooga police, Hamilton County EMS and Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue also provided assistance on the scene.
