Chattanooga fire educator outlines community risk reduction after rise in residential fires

Alan Green, the Fire Life Safety Educator for the Chattanooga Fire Department, told the City Council on Oct. 25 that the department is developing a community risk reduction (CRR) plan after an increase in residential structure fires.

Green said the department recorded 222 structure fires in 2023, 42 of which were cooking-related (about 18.92 percent). In 2024 the department recorded 304 structure fires, with 73 identified as cooking-related (about 24 percent). Green said early 2025 figures discussed in the meeting suggested the total number of structure fires had continued to rise.

Green said the CRR approach moves “past traditional fire prevention” to a strategic, data-driven plan that identifies hazards, prioritizes risks and implements mitigation tactics. “Education is the foundation to prevention,” he said, and added, “Information without application is just a conversation.” The department plans to use a combination of the CRR “assessment → plan → implement → monitor” steps and a set of outreach tactics Green described as the “5 E’s,” with education currently the heaviest emphasis.

Why it matters: Cooking is the leading cause of residential building fires nationally and, Green said, the city’s rising cooking-fire numbers suggest a local need for targeted intervention. Green said ZIP code 37421 had the highest counts in both 2023 (14 cooking fires in the city’s 42 total) and 2024 (12 of the city’s 73 cooking fires), and the department will use ZIP-code level reporting to focus outreach.

Green outlined several immediate and near-term actions. The department will: - Complete a CRR assessment that combines on-the-ground outreach and incident data to identify local causes (for example, unattended cooking, grease fires, time-of-day patterns). - Develop targeted messaging and tactics (e.g., school-based programs, smart-burner grant opportunities, distribution and installation of smoke alarms through partner grants). - Seek grant funding and partnerships, including work tied to the U.S. Fire Administration and other national programs that have provided smoke alarms and educational programming in prior years.

Green described an on-the-ground success: firefighters installed smoke alarm batteries and additional devices in a Woodmore home after a resident’s knee surgery; the alarms later alerted the household to a candle-related kitchen fire and, the resident said, helped them avoid a house loss. Resident Carrie Harris, who received the alarms, testified to that outcome during the presentation.

Council members asked about staffing and funding. Green said staff who conduct CRR work are on special assignment and receive compensation; he also described ongoing coordination with national partners who apply for grants tied to specific programs (for example, school-targeted “sound off” smoke-alarm programs and other funding for devices such as smart burners). Green said the department intends to analyze detailed incident reports and a new reporting system coming in January to better classify cooking-fire causes (for example, grease splatter vs. unattended pans).

The presentation closed with Green asking for collaboration across city departments and neighborhoods and a commitment to provide council with implementation metrics as the CRR plan moves from assessment to action.

The department did not present an adopted ordinance or formal council motion during the presentation; council members requested the presentation slides be emailed to staff.

Alan Green said the department will return with refined metrics and an action plan once the CRR assessment and data review are complete.