UPDATE: 2:45 p.m.
What firefighters originally thought was a backyard campfire on 8th Avenue NE this morning was a fire in the clean-out box of a wood stove.
Assistant Fire Chief Jim Nickles says the homeowner had cleaned out his chimney but there was some debris left in the box.
“So we had fire coming out the top of the chimney for a while,” said Nickles, noting some 15 firefighters attended, mucked out the box and applied chemical powder and down the chimney to extinguish the fire. “This fellow was pretty good because he had all his equipment and had actually cleaned it.”
Nickles reminds those who use wood fuel devices this is the time of year to clean chimneys – including the clean-out box.
Good maintenance is not only safer, it saves money as every fire requires the dispatch of two firehalls, with many firefighters having to leave their day jobs to attend.
On a more positive note, Nickles says public response to suspected fires has been excellent.
“We’ve been getting lots of calls whenever anything happens,” he says.
Original story 10:30 a.m.
Firefighters were called out Friday morning for what appears to be a residential chimney fire.
Crews entered the home on 8th Ave. NE and were working to put to a small blaze.
It appears damage was minor.
More to come.