UPDATE: Fireplace Embers Cause Greenwich House Fire

Photo: the Dec. 20, 2015 house fire at 558 Riversville Rd. Credit: Greenwich Professional Firefighters via Facebook.

Updated at 8 p.m.:

A Riversville Road family was routed from their home Sunday afternoon after embers from their fireplace apparently ignited the roof of the house, according to a Greenwich Fire Department official.

No one was injured in the fire that was reported at 3:27 p.m., according to Greenwich Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Zack. “The residents had a fire in the fireplace on the first floor and the fire alarm sounded. The resident went outside and saw his roof on fire and called 911,” Zack said.

The couple escaped unharmed and five engine companies, two tanker trucks and the Cos Cob Fire Police Patrol responded to the scene at 558 Riversville Rd., according to Zack.

While the cause of the fire appears to have been caused by embers that went up the flue and landed on the roof, igniting the roof and causing damage to attic timbers and the roof, the Greenwich Fire Marshal’s office is investigating, Zack said.

“It’s not habitable and has been posted,” Zack said. “There is a decent sized hole in the roof.”

Fire crews remained at the scene until 6:15 p.m.

Original story: 5 p.m.

Greenwich Fire Department crews were at the scene of a house fire in the northwest area of town Sunday evening.

The fire was reported around 4:30 p.m. and firefighters are using tankers to help battle the blaze in the 500 block of Riversville Road.

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