Chimney fire at listed building in Hanbury

4:44pm Friday 17th February 2012 in

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FIREFIGHTERS were called to a listed building in Hanbury following reports that a chimney breast was ablaze.

Two crews from Droitwich were quickly at the scene in School Road just before 11am today.

They joined police officers at the Grade II listed building who had been called to assist with traffic management.

The fire involved the chimney breast of a woodburner at the property and firefighters had to remove plasterwork from the chimney breast to expose the brickwork and locate the fire. Thermal imaging
equipment and a specialist ‘snake eye’ camera were used to help identify any hot spots in the chimney breast, and the services of USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) were also employed to shore up the
fireplace so that further bricks could be safely removed.

Station commander Dan Quinn praised fire crews for their hard work, saying: “Fortunately the occupier raised the alarm after noticing that the chimney breast was unusually hot and this, combined
with the tremendous efforts of our crews, helped prevent the spread of fire and any further damage to this listed property.”

He confirmed that there were no injuries, and that damage was primarily from dust and debris which had accumulated in the chimney.

He added: “Chimney fires have the potential to cause extensive damage and we’d urge anyone with an open fire or a woodburner to be sure to have their chimneys swept regularly to help minimise the
risk of a chimney fire.”

He also urged people to call the fire service without delay if they suspect they have a fire in their chimney.