LAKEPORT – Wood-burning buildup ignited about 9 p.m. Wednesday inside the chimney in a house on Hartley Road and 20th Street, Lakeport fire reported.
The Lakeport Fire Protection District responded within four minutes and knocked out the fire before it spread from the chimney to the house, Chief Ken Wells said.
The renters were standing outside the house and uninjured when fire staff arrived.
The house had an insert with a pipe leading to the chimney, where possible improper installation and lack of maintenance caused congested creosote to light on fire, Wells said.
Firefighters attacked the fire from inside the house and the roof to break buildup with pokers and snuff out the buildup with fire extinguishers, Wells said.
“Those are hard fires to put out because they”re contained inside the chimney,” Wells said.
The renters didn”t know how long it had been since the chimney was cleaned, Wells said.
Chimney fires happen quite often, Wells said. The National Fire Protection Agency recommends residents have their chimneys cleaned and inspected annually by trained professionals.
As winter approaches, Wells said it”s the time of the season to get chimneys cleaned. Poorly maintained chimneys can also lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.
With daylight saving time ending Sunday, Wells said people should change the batteries on their smoke detectors as well.
“Every time you change your clock forward or back, change the batteries in your smoke detectors,” he said.
Contact Katy Sweeny at ksweeny@record-bee.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
