Chimney Blaze Quickly Doused by Volunteer Firefighters

A larger-than-intended blaze broke out tonight (Tuesday, Oct. 25) in the chimney of a Lawrence Township home after residents ignited an old pizza box and other combustibles not intended for use in a fireplace, township fire officials said.

Firefighters from Lawrence Township’s three volunteer fire companies – Lawrenceville, Lawrence Road and Slackwood – were dispatched to the home in the 4600 block of Province Line Road about 9:35 p.m.

As a precaution, due to the limited number of fire hydrants in the area, fire department tankers hauling a combined 7,500 gallons of water were also dispatched from Pennington and Hopewell boroughs.

Fire officials said a decent fire was crackling inside the fireplace and starting to burn the creosote coating the inside of the chimney when they arrived, but firefighters quickly extinguished the flames. Smoldering material was carried in buckets to the front lawn, where it was thoroughly soaked.

Firefighters climbed to the roof to examine the chimney stack and also checked inside the attic of the home with thermal imaging cameras to make sure the fire had not spread beyond the confines of the fireplace or chimney, officials said.

There were no injuries and firefighters left the scene by 10:15 p.m.