While firefighters work to get the blaze under control, off-duty Captain Steve Everett (in overalls, right front), Chattanooga firefighters, and some of the neighbors involved in the rescue help carry the victim's wife on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance.
photo by Captain David Thompson, Jr.
The victim in Sunday's fatal fire at 1218 Judys Lane in Lookout Valley has been identified as Charles Vaughn. He was 72.
Details on the incident are still being obtained, but Mr. Vaughn was reportedly in the attached garage around 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon working on a lawnmower when the fire started. His wife and daughter were in the house at the time.
Neighbors spotted the fire and ran to the house to help.
Those rushing to help included Captain Steve Everett, an off-duty firefighter with the Chattanooga Fire Department. Assisted by Cecil and Steven Skyles, Lamar Skinner and Kim Jones, Captain Everett pulled the man's wife from the burning home. She was immediately rushed to a local hospital by Hamilton County EMS. The woman was suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. An update on her condition was not available.
Their adult daughter was also in the house. She was treated on the scene for minor smoke inhalation, but appeared to be otherwise uninjured.
Authorities said at some point, Mr. Vaughn went into the house while it was on fire, and he never made it back out.
The cause of the fire has been ruled accidental, though what exactly sparked the blaze remains undetermined. The house is considered a total loss.
Mr. Vaughn's death marks the fourth fire-related fatality so far this year in Chattanooga.