CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) -- An alert neighbor and a quick response from Chattanooga firefighters kept and entire house from going up in flames.
When Will Fix stepped out his front door this afternoon he saw smoke billowing out of his neighbor's house. Fix told firefighters that he kicked the front door open and yelled to alert anyone in the house to get out.
No one was home, but a pet dog ran away from him up the stairs. The smoke and heat was already too intense for him to follow, so Fix got out of the house and called 911.
The Chattanooga Fire Department received the call at 1:36 p.m. and responded with several fire companies. Battalion Chief Bob Dixon said most of the fire was located in the garage and the firefighters were able to keep the blaze from spreading to the rest of the house.
During the firefighting operation, a firefighter found the dog in a bedroom. The dog appeared to be scared, but didn't show any obvious signs of injury. Fix agreed to keep the dog until the occupants of the home returned.
Though the fire damage was contained to the garage, the rest of the house sustained smoke damage and power to the house had to be disconnected.
Volunteers with the American Red Cross were called in to provide assistance to the victims.
An estimate on the dollar loss was not available. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
