A routine demolition of a shed at DeButts Yard quickly turned into a fiery situation. (Photo by Bruce Garner/Chattanooga Fire Dept.)A routine demolition of a shed at DeButts Yard quickly turned into a fiery situation Monday afternoon.
The Chattanooga Fire Department responded to the locomotive shop at DeButts Yard, where two contract workers with Richard Brown Construction were using cutting torches to demolish a shed. Sparks from the cutting torches fell into a pit below, which contained a mixture of oil, grease and diesel fuel.
The result was an eruption of flames and thick, black smoke that could be seen from many parts of town.
As firefighters arrived on scene, one of the workers was temporarily stranded on top of the shed. The wind was pushing flames away from him, and he was able able to come down after a co-worker rescued him in a bucket lift truck.
Capt. John Long said firefighters used hand-held hoses to spray Class B foam on the fuel-fed fire and were able to control the blaze within 15 minutes.
No injuries were reported. Since the shed was being demolished anyway, the fire caused no property damage.