Chimney fire displaces homeowners, damages farmhouse
No injuries in Wednesday night house fire near Belwood
CENTRE WELLINGTON – There were no injuries caused by a chimney fire at a 5th Line residence on Wednesday night, but two people have been displaced.
The fire was called in at around 11pm by the homeowners, said Centre Wellington deputy fire chief Jonathan Karn.
Around 35 volunteer firefighters from the Fergus and Elora stations responded to the home, west of Belwood, Karn told the Advertiser on Thursday morning.
The department also called in help from an Arthur water tanker.
“When we arrived there was an active fire into the attic and through the roof,” Karn said.
Heat from a wood-burning stove used to heat the restored stone farmhouse radiated from a chimney pipe into the home's attic and caused the fire, according to Karn.
The double-walled, insulated pipe should have contained the heat, he said, adding fire officials were returning to the scene to investigate why that didn't happen.
Karn said the pipe was maintained, and the fire isn't deemed suspicious.
The first group of firefighters to arrive attacked flames licking from the roof at the back of the house while another crew entered the home and began pulling away the ceiling to access fire in the attic.
The department used its aerial ladder truck to access the home's slippery metal roof so sections could be cut out with a rotary saw, allowing firefighters to search for hotspots and spreading fire.
The fire was mostly fought inside, through the ceiling, Karn said, adding much of the roof remains and the majority of the home was saved.
A damage estimate isn't yet available, but the deputy chief said there's water damage throughout the home, and repair costs will be high.
The displaced homeowners reportedly stayed in a hotel on Wednesday night.
Prevent chimney fires
Creosote, a flammable byproduct of burning carbon-containing material and resulting from incomplete combustion, hardens into a soot and lines chimney flues.
Karn said annual cleaning and inspections by a WETT-certified (wood energy technology transfer) inspector can address creosote buildup and prevent chimney fires.
