ROCKPORT — Rockport firefighters were called to a farmhouse at Aldermere Farm on Russell Ave. at approximately 12:30 p.m. this afternoon as heavy smoke poured from the brick chimney. Inside the chimney, a mass of unburnt paper products was on fire.

“The blockage was on fire,” said Rockport Fire Chief Jason Peasley, who stood on the roof of the old farmhouse along with Asst. Fire Chief John Wickenden, dropping a ball and chain down into the chimney over and over again to break up the mass. As they did, clouds of smoke filled with black paper soot filled the winter sky around them.

The home’s occupant apparently had been burning paper waste in the woodstove.

Coated paper does not burn easily, and when it does, a waxy waste is produced.

As Peasley and Wickenden worked on the roof, Lt. Greg Rollins and firefighters Levi Rollins and Charles Knight were in the basement, shooting a fire extinguisher up the chimney through the ash pit door.

Once the fire was out and chimney cleared, it became evident to the firefighters that the brick-lined chimney needed a full inspection before being put to use again.

“It’s not recommended to burn magazines in a woodstove,” said Peasley. 

He advises homeowners to periodically check their chimneys by using a mirror to peer up toward the flue and see if all is clear.

The farmhouse, he said, “could easily have gone up.”

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657