When firefighters arrived at 76 Bunker Hill Rd. in Jefferson late Monday night, fire was seen shooting out through the top the chimney. In below zero weather under a crisp, starry night, firefighters subdued the chimney fire a little after 8 p.m.
“There’s no cleanout, so we have to take the burning logs in the stove out.” Assistant Fire Chief Walter Morris said.
A fog of breath steamed in front of his face and his turnout gear crinkled in the still cold air as Morris explained why the firefighters had to remove the stove from the rest of the chimney.
A shelf inside the chimney was collecting the chunks of creosote firefighters on the roof were knocking down with weights. Morris said this creosote would continue to burn, so they had to put out the fire in the stove, remove the burning material from the stove to a location away from the house and detach the stove from the rest of the chimney.
Jefferson Fire and Rescue did not need to call on mutual aid. They had 12 firefighters at the scene and several more back at the station, Morris said.
“Fortunately for the homeowner it’s not their only source of heat,” Morris added, saying that the homeowner had an oil furnace as a backup. “They’ll be able to stay in their house tonight, which is a good thing.”
