Home a total loss after flue fire

The Park Hills Fire Department responded to the 400 block of Ethel Ave. on Thursday evening around 6:50 p.m. Park Hills Assistant Fire Chief Jason Stam said they arrived on scene to find a home with heavy smoke and fire coming out of the roof and a window.

“It was a flue fire and the flue was made of brick,” said Stam. “The bricks had mortar missing around them and we believe that there was soot built up in the flue. The fire burning in the stove caught the soot on fire, then the heat and maybe debris fell out of the cracks in the mortar and onto the tongue and groove ceiling.”

Firefighters had to tear the ceiling out in order to reach the attic area where the fire had spread so they could get water up there to put out the flames.

Firefighters were on scene for four hours and the home was a total loss.

Stam added that people need to make sure to get their flues inspected annually and cleaned by a professional to keep this from happening.

Fire departments that assisted Park Hills included Desloge, Big River, Farmington and Bismarck.

The state fire marshal’s office was called in to investigate and reportedly indicated the fire would be ruled accidental … the cause being the faulty flue for the wood burning stove.

See a gallery of photos from the scene at www.dailyjournalonline.com.” width=”800″ /> Several departments assisted Park Hills with a flue fire that resulted in a total loss of this home Thursday night.

See a gallery of photos from the scene at www.dailyjournalonline.com.

Firefighters had to tear the ceiling out to get to the flames in the attic and hose it down with water.

Renee Bronaugh is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-518-3617 or rbronaugh@dailyjournalonline.com