Pittsfield Fire Department Responds To Early Morning Chimney Fire (PHOTOS)

Once again, our local fire crews came to the rescue to take care of a potentially serious situation before it got out of hand yesterday morning at a residence on Blythewood Drive in Pittsfield.

According to a media statement from Deputy Chief Neil Myers of the Pittsfield Fire Department(PFD), fire crews responded to a chimney fire early Monday morning shortly before 4:30 a.m.

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Deputy Chief Myers reported that the PFD responded to a large log cabin-style home at 154 Blythewood Drive in Pittsfield at approximately 4:23 a.m. Monday morning, January 2nd due to reports of a possible chimney fire.

On arrival, firefighters noticed smoke around the fireplace/stone facade in the great room. Luckily, the fire was contained to just the chimney and there were no injuries as everyone in the house was accounted for.

After approximately an hour of using standard chimney fire tactics proved unsuccessful, fire crews determined that the fire was actively burning between the stone facade and exterior chimney.

The media statement reports that, in order to get to the fire, fire crews had to remove the entire facade from the roofline down to the fireplace, which was a long and extremely labor-intensive process.

After about 4 hours of fire crews diligently removing the facade and the burning wood behind it (all while trying to minimize further damage), the fire was finally brought under control and the owners were told they could come back inside.

According to the Pittsfield Fire Department, the fire was the result of faulty masonry in the connection between the fireplace and the main chimney. Also, due to the extensive overhaul needed to access the fire, damages could amount to roughly $100,000.