Firefighters are reminding residents to keep their chimneys clean after flames were seen jettisoning out of a flue early Monday in the Grandview area.
The fire was reported at 9:57 a.m. by a passerby in the 28600 block of U.S. Highway 160 at a white, two-story house on the north side of the highway just east of the Bridge to Nowhere.
Jami Cagle said she was inside the house when she heard a pounding on the door. A man told her that flames were shooting out of the chimney and she needed to get out of the house.
Firefighters responded and determined the fire had not escaped the confines of the chimney, said Tony Harwig, battalion chief for Durango Fire & Rescue Authority. They inspected the chimney and allowed Cagle to re-enter the home.
“That was a good response,” Cagle said. “I’m glad everything is fine. I can go back to sleep.”
Firefighters recommend residents clean their chimneys once a year and more than that if they use the fireplace frequently.
“This one had recently been cleaned, so it was all good,” Harwig said. “They just got a good fire going.”
Harwig said that despite colder temperatures and more chimneys in use around the region, the department has not responded to a lot of chimney fires this winter.
shane@durangoherald.com
