Downtown Chattanooga fire damages two businesses

photo An investigation is underway into what caused a fire in downtown Thursday morning.

Sections of Vine and Lindsay streets are closed this morning as Chattanooga firefighters continue to work the site of an early morning fire.

Firefighters responded to a fire on Vine Street around 6:30 a.m. Battalion Chief Rodney Jones said in a news release that when the fire companies arrived at Toast Cafe, flames were shooting out a side door and smoke was pouring from the windows.

As firefighters worked their way inside to make an interior attack on the flames, Jones called for additional manpower and equipment. The bulk of the fire was in the rear of the building in what was described as a crawl space.

The shop next door to Toast Cafe, Chad's CDs, Records & Tapes was also threatened by the fire. Chad's, separated from the cafe by only an interior wall, has a large collection of old and irreplaceable vinyl records, the release said.

While the business did sustain smoke damage, much of the merchandise was removed from the building undamaged.

Jones said firefighters were able to control the blaze in about 30 minutes. No injuries were reported.

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