ROCKPORT — Sixteen Rockport firefighters descended on Bob Emery’s home along Route 17 (509 Rockland St.) Tuesday morning, after a passerby reported a possible chimney fire. it turns out the smoke was emanating from the around the flashing where the roof meets the chimney, which meant there was possibly a bigger problem brewing.

Rockport Fire Chief Jason Peasley called the passerby “very smart” for realizing the smoke was actually coming from a part of the chimney it shouldn’t be and calling 911. That call came in at 6:49 a.m.

“When we arrived on scene, we noticed a lot of smoke at the base of the chimney, where it meets the roof, but also smoke coming from the dormer vent in the attic,” said Peasley. “We put a ladder up to see what we had and as soon as they pulled the vent off, the smoke started coming out more heavily around the chimney and the roof.”

Peasley said they discovered a crack that ran nearly halfway around the chimney, located where the visible bricks meet the cinder blocks that extend down through the inside of the house into the basement. He said a lot of the mortar was missing, and an 1/2-inch space had opened up, allowing smoke and flames to escape from inside.

“That area was scorched by flames, and that’s an area where we found adjacent timber scorched as well,” said Peasley. “Had the passerby not called, it’s likely this fire was about to expand into a structure fire in a short amount of time.”

Peasley said a pair of firefighters expended a lot of effort to chain the chimney and dislodge the clog.

“Three and a half buckets of creosote were pulled out of the chimney, which is a lot, and we didn’t even get it all out,” said Peasley. “And I’m glad we had as many firefighters from Rockport there as we did had it gone wrong.”

in addition to the 16 people, Peasley said engines 21, 23 and 25 responded to the scene.

He said the damage to the home was minimal and they cleared the scene in about 40 minutes.

“Mr. Emery already had someone coming to finish cleaning the chimney and a mason to fix the damage,” said Peasley.

Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards can be reached at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com or 706-6655.