Fire Damages Duplex on Donaldson Road

A fire did extensive damage to a duplex on Donaldson Road, Monday afternoon. No injuries were reported.

According to East Ridge Fire Chief Mike Williams, firefighters and police were dispatched to 806 B Donaldson Rd. at approximately 12:37 p.m. on a reported duplex fire. Upon arrival all occupants were outside and heavy smoke was found to be coming from the structure.

Firefighters made an interior attack locating and extinguishing the fire located in the basement of the dwelling. Mutual Aid was requested from Catoosa for one Engine to assist with manpower at the scene. A second Mutual Aid request was made for one Engine from Chattanooga to fill in at East Ridge Station 1 to answer any other calls for service.

Memorial EMS was on scene for any potential injuries. Damage is estimated to be approximately $20,000.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.