Chattanooga firefighters were sent to 1600 Parkway Drive around 11:30 this morning on a reported suicide attempt, but events took a different turn when they arrived on the scene.
A resident of the house, Andrew Duncan, had just returned home and was putting food in the refrigerator when the firefighters arrived. What Mr. Duncan evidently didn't know was that his sister, Virginia Humphrey (46), had called 911 moments earlier, saying she tried to commit suicide by overdosing on drugs, but couldn't follow through with it. Mr. Duncan said he didn't even know she was home.
The firefighters with Engine 15 told Mr. Duncan why they were there, and during the conversation, they all smelled smoke. While they were looking around, Mr. Duncan opened the door to a bedroom and discovered the bed was on fire.
He then heard his sister screaming for help. Lieutenant Terrance Andrews tried to get to Ms. Humphrey, but since he was not wearing his firefighting gear -- he was there originally for a medical call -- he could not reach the woman through the smoke and flames.
Lt. Andrews ran out of the house and called for additional fire companies to respond. While the other firefighters with Engine 15 got hand-held hoselines ready to attack the fire, Lt. Andrews grabbed an ax from his fire engine, and ran around the outside of the house to the bedroom window, which was blocked by security bars.
While he heard the victim inside screaming for help, Lt. Andrews tried using the ax to remove the bars, but it was ineffective. So he grabbed the bars with his hands and yanked them off the side of the house. Lt. Andrews then reached through the window and pulled Ms. Humphrey out to safety.
Ms. Humphrey was immediately handed off to paramedics with Hamilton County EMS, who rushed the victim to Erlanger Medical Center. At the time of this release, Ms. Humphrey's condition was still being evaluated in the emergency room. No other injuries were reported.
The firefighters were able to contain the blaze to the bedroom and an adjacent bathroom. The rest of the house had smoke and water damage. The dollar loss was estimated at $25,000. Senior Firefighter Henry McElvain with the Fire Investigation Division said the cause of the fire was undetermined and under investigation. Captain Lesley Cole is assisting with the investigation. Volunteers with the American Red Cross were called in to provide assistance to the victims. Chattanooga police provided assistance on the scene.
