Dirty chimney causes house fire

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Fire crews believe a house in southwest Travis County went up in flames Sunday evening due to an unclean chimney.

Reports of the fire came in around 6 p.m. that a two-story house on Buffalo Grove Cove was burning. The fire was consuming the attic and roof.

A neighbor noticed an unusual amount of smoke billowing from the home's chimney, alerted the homeowner and called 911. The chimney was located at the back of the home.

The family, along with their pets, got out safely and were not injured.

"A homeowner was having a fire in their fireplace and it got out of hand," explained Fire Chief Chris Barron with the Manchach Volunteer Fire Department. "The homeowners just recently moved in to this new home and did not know if the fireplace had been cleaned out or not or if the chimney had been cleaned out or not and unfortunately it caused the house to catch on fire."

The Austin Fire Department and Travis County ESD assisted the Manchaca Volunteer Fire Department in putting the fire out in Shady Hollow subdivision. The fire was out before 7 p.m. but several crews remain there mopping up the scene.

"It is just a reminder that in these cold days that we need to adhere to fire prevention type of behavior including making sure your chimney is clean and making sure that when your fire is in your fireplace it is out before you go to bed," Barron added.

Fire crews faced some trouble fighting this fire. Barron said the hydrants do not work well in the area.

"The hydrants in this area are not the greatest in the world," he said. "So we had to rely on tank water and then boosting pressure from our other apparatus, so we kind of had to do this water shuffle thing. We never ran out of water but there was a balancing act between water pressure from the hydrant and also pressure from our tanks."

There is no damage estimate yet, but Barron said 30 percent of the home is damaged.

The family will not be able to return to their home Sunday evening.

Barron gives these tips before lighting a fire in a fireplace:

• Clean out your chimney annually (if you are unsure if yours is clean, be cautious and call out a professional to check, inspect and clean it)
• Make sure the flue is open before starting a fire
• Look in the chimney for birds nests/look on the chimney's exterior to see if anything is obstructing smoke from getting out (common obstructions are leaves and brush)