Fire Damages Building At Chattanooga Zoo

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Fire Damages Building At Chattanooga Zoo

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Tennessee -

Chattanooga
firefighters battled a two-alarm blaze at the Chattanooga Zoo in Warner
Park last night. The fire started around 11:00 p.m. in a two-story
building referred to as the Education Center, which is located between
the gift shop and the public pool. Flames were breaking through the
roof when the firefighters arrived on the scene. Employees with the
zoo, including Executive Director Darde Long, informed the firefighters
that about 20 small animals were still inside the building, including
rabbits, parrots, prairie dogs, turtles and lizards.

Battalion Chief
Winston Shields instructed some firefighters to use handheld hoselines
to make an interior attack in the building, while others searched for
the animals. The firefighters were able to save many of the animals,
but Ms. Long said roughly eight of them perished from exposure to smoke
and heat. That number could go up, depending on the condition of the
animals that were saved. The building did not house any of the larger
animals at the zoo.

Firefighters
with 13 fire companies managed to get the blaze under control in
roughly 40 minutes, containing most of the fire damage to the second
floor on one end of the building. There was smoke and water damage to
the rest of the building. The dollar loss was estimated at around
$50,000 to the structure, which was actually a multi-purpose facility
that had offices and a rehabilitation area for ill and injured animals.
One firefighter injured her back and one of her knees on the scene and
was transported by Hamilton County EMS to a local hospital, where she
was treated and released.

Captain Lesley
Morgan with the Fire Investigation Division said the cause of the fire
appears to be accidental in nature, though what exactly sparked the
blaze remains undetermined and under investigation. Chattanooga police
and Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue provided valuable assistance on
the scene.

Written and photos by Bruce Garner