At approximately 12:30 overnight on Thursday February 28th 2019, Newport Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a chimney fire spreading into the ceiling at a residence in South Beach. First arriving units observed smoke coming from a chimney and roof of a two-story home.
The homeowner was cooling the chimney from the exterior with a garden hose. Fire crews were able to remove the fire from the fireplace and extinguish the fire after several hours of overhaul. The fire had spread to areas of the wall and multi-layered roof.
A large section of the interior chimney rock face was removed to access the fire. Once
removed, the interior of the wall showed that heat from the chimney had weakened the wood and made it more susceptible to a fire over time. Newport Fire Department received mutual aid assistance from Pacific West Ambulance, Seal Rock Fire and Toledo Fire.
Newport Fire Dept. responded with 2 fire engines, 1 water tender, 1 chief officer and 10 firefighters. The cause of the fire was determined to be fire spread to structural members of the home from a faulty chimney flue. Working smoke detectors alerted the residents to the fire and they were able to evacuate safely.
Information and photos provided by Newport Fire
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