ROCKLAND — Rockland firefighters cut off the top of a chimney at 7 Trinity Street in Rockland, Saturday evening, after some remaining creosote ignited from within.

According to Rockland Fire Chief Chris Whytock, the owners of the one story duplex had been diligent about keeping their only source of heat properly maintained by chimney cleanings a couple times per year. The most recent cleaning was two weeks ago. And, as their only source of heat, had been using the wood stove since that time.

Yet, at about 5:45 p.m., Saturday, December 31, the occupants of the house, David Hall, along with Cynthia and Douglas Hall, were alerted by a passerby of sparks coming from the chimney. The occupants then called 911, at which point, the four crew members on duty at the fire department arrived on scene at 5:50 p.m. As of that time, this was the only call of the day for the fire department, though EMS received a couple calls.

Upon initial arrival, heavy smoke was showing from the chimney and upon further inspection, found smoke to be in the attic space and venting through the ridge vents, according to the fire department’s official report. A full first alarm was struck which called Rockport Fire to the scene as a precaution in the event that the fire had spread beyond the wood stove and chimney.

“It turns out that the chimney’s just cracked, somewhere in there, so there was no fire in the attic, thankfully,” Whytock said.

The bulk of the fire was contained to the chimney with creosote making its way between the chimney liner and the chimney bricks. All hot spots were extinguished and all units cleared at 7:36 p.m. The chimney liner was found to have cracks in it, letting the creosote travel between the liner and bricks.

“Creosote, when it’s hot, is almost like tar,” Whytock said. “As it cools, it hardens up. Every time he would light a fire in there, it’s going to heat that creosote up and get it a little further down there.”

After pouring some water down in order to douse any remaining fire in the wood stove, responders turned to the task of taking the chimney down to the ridge line in order to make sure nothing else was burning in the air space. At first, the chipping away of brick took time, yet as responders worked closer to the ridge line, cracks in those bricks allowed for quicker removal.

Though chimney fires are relatively common, Whytock said that this is the first time in a long time that he’s seen a need to remove the bricks of the chimney.

In all, 11 Rockland personnel arrived on scene, along with seven members of the Rockport Fire Department.

No injuries were reported, and the other side of the duplex, 5 Trinity Street, was unoccupied.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com