Commercial fire guts two Lee Highway businesses

Jan. 30--Video provided by Bruce Garner/Chattanooga Fire Department

Yellow police tape strung at waist height around the parking lot of a building on Lee Highway bounced in the breeze Tuesday afternoon as a small crew worked to clean up what was left of two Chattanooga businesses.

A backhoe scraped across the asphalt, scooping up drywall, metal and glass fallen from the building that held both Summitt Pianos and General Appliance Warehouse. Pianos, soaked by the efforts of firefighters to contain the blaze, could be seen on the showroom floor through the structure's destroyed facade.

"I'm just glad no one was hurt," said Ted Summitt, the owner of Summitt Pianos. "My employees are my biggest concern."

Firefighters first responded to the scene in the 6200 block of Lee Highway around 12:15 a.m. Tuesday and found flames shooting through the roof, according to a news release. A captain called for a second alarm response to bring support, and soon after Lee Highway was completely blocked by emergency vehicles.

As firefighters worked to contain the blaze, power lines running to the building broke loose and fell to the ground, sending sparks into the air and forcing responders back until an EPB technician arrived to shut off power.

A deluge of water was sprayed onto the building from above until firefighters could get inside with handheld lines, but it still took more than an hour to put out most of the fire. No injuries were reported, but both businesses sustained heavy losses.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Summitt said he'd been told that a police officer who was in the parking lot when the fire broke out heard an explosion from the building and looked over to see a fire had erupted.

The piano store occupies the floor below General Appliance, and Summitt said the fire is thought to have been gas related. His own store sustained no fire damage, but water and smoke from the inferno above damaged many of the instruments inside it.

"Everything's wet downstairs. There are a lot of Steinways we had that got soaked," he said. "It'll be a complete loss on a lot of the instruments, but there are others that we hope are salvageable. There are some that we might be able to bring back some life to."

Summitt took over ownership of the business almost three decades ago and has been at the Lee Highway location since then. The business hosts Chattanooga Music Teachers Association recitals, annual auditions and other musical events. It also provides a concert grand piano to area concerts and for the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera.

The owners of General Appliance Warehouse could not be reached for comment, but residents completing errands at nearby stores could be seen stopping to stare at the building's husk.

"I'm glad everyone is all right, but I can't imagine what the owners are going through right now," Stacey Tate said.

"Hopefully they have insurance, but something like that can be life-altering," she said. "You work or live in a place day after day and then one night it all goes up in smoke. Then you're left picking up all the pieces."

Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at [email protected] or 423-757-6731. Follow him on Twitter @emmettgienapp.

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Updated at 4:41 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018.

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