Smoke In Basement Sends Firefighters to East Side Home

Smoke in a residential basement was traced to hot embers from a fireplace coming into contact with other household items.

Firefighters responded to an east side home early Tuesday to investigate the report of smoke. Homeowners greeted Engine Co. 3 outside and directed them to the basement. The crew found a slight haze of smoke on the first floor. As they advanced to the basement, they found dark smoke coming from a storage room. There, they found that the door of a fireplace cleanout was compromised, and hot embers were escaping. The embers began burning items stored against the chimney area. 

Engine 3 used their water can extinguisher to extinguish the hot embers and moved items away from the chimney. Ladder 8 helped clear smoke from the basement. As Ladder 8 ventilated, Engine 3 cleared out additional embers and debris from the fireplace and sprayed water into the fireplace to ensure everything had been cooled down. The home was checked for elevated carbon monoxide levels but none were found. 

Occupants were advised to keep the windows open for a little while to allow remaining smoke to dissipate, and to store items at least three feet away from the chimney and heat-generating appliances. There were no injuries, and nobody was displaced.