Salem House Fire Blamed on Improperly Installed Chimney

One firefighter received a minor injury while pulling a fire hose inside the structure. He was evaluated at the scene, but was not transported.

Photo courtesy: Bill Holmstrom/Salem Fire

(SALEM, Ore.) - Salem firefighters arriving on the scene of a structure fire at 843 Dove Avenue NE today say they had light smoke coming from the front door of the single-story home. The single alarm fire had been called in just before 3:00 PM.

Fire Department Spokesman Bill Holmstrom says that with the use of a thermal imagining camera, firefighters discovered fire behind the brick chimney of the fire place.

"Firefighters cut into the wall and discovered the fire was spreading throughout the wall behind the chimney. They had to remove a large amount of the chimney and wall to extinguish the fast moving wall fire."

Holmstrom says one firefighter received a minor injury while pulling a fire hose inside the structure. He was evaluated at the scene, but was not transported.

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Investigators say the cause of the fire was an improperly installed fireplace. Because it was improperly installed, the chimney was to close too a combustible wall.

Damage estimate is $10,000 ($9,000 structure and $1,000 contents).