Fire at home in Augusta Township believed caused by heat from firebox flue
An Augusta Township family is reportedly staying with family after fire ripped through their home Friday night and left it uninhabitable.
No one was injured in the blaze, which destroyed a third of the home but spared most of the family's personal belongings, including children's toys, Assistant Chief Dave Music said.
Firefighters were called at 10:26 p.m. Friday to the fire at 8727 E. Willow Road, a few miles northeast of Milan. They found flames coming through the roof near a galvanized steel flue chimney on the manufactured home.
"I arrived first with a first-responding engine," Music said. "They had a fire hydrant right in front of the home, which was a great time-saver for laying our 4-inch hose from the engine."
Augusta firefighters managed to suppress the flames before Pittsfield Township firefighters arrived and helped pull ceiling tiles.
"The first crew in did a great job, firefighters Rob Gay and Luke Schulz, of cutting the fire off and pushing it back to the burn side of the home," Music said.
The family told firefighters that they had built a fire in the fireplace but noticed "that something didn't smell right" and saw smoke coming from in-set ceiling lights, Music said. Preliminary indications are that the blaze originated through radiant heat somewhere between the fireplace, a metal box, and the galvanized flue pipe in the ceiling, where it was sandwiched between two walls, he said.
The family declined assistance from the local Red Cross chapter and had 15 to 20 family members who had arrived and were helping out after the fire, Music said.
Firefighters estimate the blaze caused between $60,000 and $80,000 in damage.
Comments
jns131
Mon, Apr 8, 2013 : 2:19 p.m.
Chimney fires are one of the worse because they happen so fast you are lucky to get out This happened to a friend of ours. She was home when it happened. They lost half of their home. They were told by the fired dept to have their chimney cleaned every year. Scary and glad they didn't loose that much either. So, from this story we all need to go out and get our chimney cleaned.
michael Limmer
Sun, Apr 7, 2013 : 8:56 p.m.
Be interested in hearing if it was a properly maintained and installed fireplace. Sounds at least like too much creosote.
jns131
Mon, Apr 8, 2013 : 2:20 p.m.
Any fire fighter will tell you most of the fires occur from chimney's not well maintained or not installed properly. Just kind of glad we do not have one ourselves.