ROCKPORT, Maine — Firefighters put out a fire Saturday night that began near an exterior chimney attached to a house on Winding Way before it made its way inside.
A man who was renting the house overlooking Chickawaukie Pond was not home when the fire began about 7:30 p.m., Rockport Fire Chief Jason Peasley said. It was reported by a neighbor, Peasley added.
Peasley credited quick response by firefighters for preventing what could have been worse damage. Firefighters from Rockport, Rockland, Camden and Hope fought the blaze.
“My assistant chief lives right around the corner so he was there right away. The flames were visible on the side of the house at the roof. That’s when he called for mutual aid from Rockland and Camden,” he said.
“We were able to prevent the fire from spreading inside the house,” he said.
While there was a small amount of fire damage, Peasley said, there was smoke and water damage throughout the home, which he said had two stories and an attic.
Peasley said it appears that the fire began at the base of an asbestos chimney attached to the outside of the house.
“It burned all the way through from the ground floor to up to the attic,” he said.
The renter, whose name was not available on Sunday, temporarily is staying with his mother in Camden, Peasley said, adding that there were no injuries in connection with the fire.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, Peasley said. He said that the state fire marshal’s office has been called in to investigate.