Great excitement yesterday afternoon when I noticed that a lot of smoke was coming out of the chimney when the fire in the grate below was barely alight!
Having sought a second opinion from my neighbours, I phoned 999 with a sinking heart. Visions of burly men with large hoses dowsing our lovely house flashed through my mind.
Within 7 minutes or so the Fire Brigade from Long Melford hurtled along Mills Lane with blue light flashing, attracting most of the local children and the attention of several dogs.
We’re not quite sure what caused the chimney fire. It was right up at the top of the stack and apparently was pretty hot. The cause was probably a bit of bitumen from the small amount of wood that we burn which had attached itself to the inside of top of the chimney over time.
I have to say that the service from the emergency services both on the telephone and from the firemen (all part timers) was absolutely fantastic. The five men did their utmost to do as little damage as possible and were totally supportive. They made some good down to earth suggestions about how to avoid a similar fire happening again, recommending throwing a glass (no more) of water on the fire below as first aid when a chimney fire is suspected. Once the fire was out we all had a cup of tea and the fire engine returned to Long Melford.
I won’t say that it was a totally stress free experience, but I do think we are really lucky to have such a great fire service. A big thank you to you all!
