Egremont – At 6 p.m. on Friday evening (February 20) a complement of 14 Egremont firefighters saved a house on 21 Blunt Road from possible destruction from a chimney fire.
Assistant Fire Chief James Olmsted explained to Edge reporter Rikke Borge that Egremont firefighters had to negotiate snow and ice on the roof in order to get to the chimney.
“We had a working chimney fire in there,” he said, standing outside the residence after the fire had been extinguished. “We had three trucks and a tanker, all from Egremont. Fourteen men responded, and we had to go up on the second floor roof, clean both chimneys with a chain, bust them open, and then shut the fireplaces down until the homeowner gets them cleaned.”
He noted that it was dangerous with all the ice and snow on the roof.
“We carried a big three-fold ladder up there, about 400 pounds, because we don’t have aerials in Egremont,” he said. “If we need an aerial, we call Barrington. They’re five minutes away.”
His message to homeowners: Be sure to have those chimneys cleaned each year before heating season.
