WILLIAMSTOWN-No one was injured when a chimney fire broke out in a 166-year-old home in the 200 block of Second Street in Williamstown Monday afternoon.
Bernard Richards and his fiancee, Lori Miller, were inside the house when the blaze began around 4 p.m.
"We had built a fire in the fireplace, but it was hard to get it going," Richards said. "There was just a little smoke in the living room."
Article Photos
SAM SHAWVER The Marietta Times
Bernard Richards, center, talks with a neighbor as firefighters work to extinguish a chimney fire in his Second Street home in Williamstown Monday afternoon.
Williamstown Fire Chief Paul Jordan said a passer-by apparently saw fire coming out of the roof near one of the home's two chimneys and notified the fire department.
"There were some flames coming out from under the eaves at the back of the house when we arrived," he said. "But two crews went inside and were able to keep the fire confined to the attic."
Jordan said there was also some concern that the fire might also work its way down into the walls of the home, so firefighters remained at the scene into the evening, and the power company was notified to shut off electricity to the structure.
CSX Transportation was notified to delay any trains bound for Williamstown as the railroad tracks run along Second Street directly in front of the home, and fire trucks were parked on the narrow street on both sides of the tracks.
Richards, who has resided in the home for 27 years, said the two-story brick house was originally built in 1847 and contained five fireplaces.
Two units from the Marietta Fire Department also responded to the blaze.
