FISHKILL Rombout firefighters knocked down a chimney fire at a home on West Redoubt Drive this morning, but the family had to relocate because the house had no heat in it, a spokesman for the fire department said.
The call came in at 7:30 a.m. when the family was awakened by a smoke detector, said Kevin Barry. The fire apparently started in the area of a wood-burning stove on the first floor, setting fire to the structure of the chimney chase, which is the opening through which the chimney rises, and then to the area between the ceiling and the second floor.
There were no injuries to the family of four, Barry said. The Red Cross responded to help. He said the town building inspector deemed the place uninhabitable because of lack of heat, but that with a few repairs and restoring of heat the home could be used again, Barry said.
Firefighters had "a tough time" with the extreme cold weather, in single digits, but knocked the fire down in about 20 minutes, he said.