ROCKLAND — It started out as an interview about chimney fires the Rockland Fire Department had responded to, but my time with Rockland Fire Chief Charlie Jordan turned out to be a lot more than that. When leaving the station, I realized I had just spent an hour with a man who was educated, dedicated and a confident leader.
 
“Chimney fires and boiler malfunctions, we’ve had a couple in the last few days," said Jordan. "With one, a significant amount of oil had pooled and caught fire. There was a lot of black smoke. You turn off the emergency shutoff and check for carbon monoxide.”
 
Jordan said a chimney fire is considered a structure fire. Creosote builds up in the chimney and ignites into a fire.
 
“Chimney fires can get hot enough to pose a threat to the structure,” he said. “If you’re burning oil, you should get the boiler serviced annually by a licensed oil burner technician. For wood burning stoves, a qualified chimney sweep should inspect it going into the season. It’s a good insurance policy to have qualified eyes look at it once a year.”
 
Jordon said going into the season is better than after as animals have a tendency to build nests in chimneys in the summer. He said the biggest danger for chimneys is wherever the flue temperature changes.
 
“If the air is going from a warm room into a cold attic, as an example, that’s a condensation point," he said. "An attic, a roof, or where the flue changes direction from, say straight to an angle, and the more severe the angle, the more chance for the smoke to condense. Improper use of the system can be a contributing factor, as well.”
 
Jordan said it was just an estimate, but off the top of his head he thought the fire department had responded to 10 to 12 heating system-related calls in March. Three or four of those were significant fires.
 
“For the state, there have been a number of heat-related fires, some with fatalities," he said. "What helps keep those numbers down is that people do a good job with system maintenance.”
 
The chief said the fire department would do a courtesy inspection of a chimney and/or wood stove if the house’s owner is having trouble with it. For oil and gas, the state does have a set of standards for chimneys, fireplaces, vents and solid fuel burning appliances and those standards are enforced.
 
“We’ve seen an increase in pellet stove issues,” said Jordan. “Some of the pellets don’t burn hot enough and that creates creosote. High-quality pellets seems to fix that. The pellets seem to fall outside of regulations. Now, I understand there are pellet burning units that are window installations. As for the pellets, we will certainly take a good look at that before next season.”
 
“I think the public has done a really good job of staying ahead of local, state and federal guidelines,” said Jordan, “especially in the commercial engineering aspect. Systems have built-in fire suppression systems and there are a lot fewer chemical fires because of safer handling. Prevention technology has a lot to do with that reduction.”
 
Jordan has been with the Rockland Fire Department for 24 years. He will have served as chief for 10 years come this December. And that’s enough time to see a lot of changes.
 
“In 24 years you see the fairly common to the fairly rare in any given 24 hours," he said. "There have been changes in every facet of the job. Homes and business have electronic fire alarms. The call for a fire is almost instantaneous. Almost every house has a fire extinguisher(s) in them. Where we would get one or two people calling in a fire, now with cell phones it’s not unusual to get 15. People just passing by — they see smoke and call it in.”
 
The Rockland Fire Department has 19 career firefighters and 15 active call members.
 
“There have been changes in gear, apparatus and training,” said Jordan. “It’s not unusual for a firefighter to carry 50 pounds on the back with a full pack, including a Scott Air Pack. Add an axe, dragging fire hose and carrying ladders and that is a full load.”
 
Jordan said: “The only constant is it’s a great job. Even though we drive each other crazy sometimes, at the firehouse, we get along really good.”
 
 The Rockland Fire Department took part in the recent burning of Lotus Restaurant in Camden:

Big burn: Camden firefighters ignite Lotus Restaurant Sunday evening

Training fires at former Lotus Restaurant under way
 
Camden, Rockland, Hope, Lincolnville and Rockport firefighters all took part in the training fires.
 
“It was an excellent day for training,” said Jordon. “That’s how you get good at putting out fires is to put them out. There is no substitute for that.”