Fireplace embers fell into a small grating in front of the fireplace at an East Hampton house Saturday morning and started a fire.
Firefighters were called to the Two Holes of Water Road house at 8:06 a.m. When they arrived, they found the homeowner and town police officers had put out much of the blaze with a garden hose and a fire extinguisher. It had spread to the basement ceiling, Chief Gerard Turza Jr. said.
Still, the chief said, “due to the construction of the fireplace and the deep-seated location of the fire,” firefighters had to dig deeper and conduct “extensive overhaul operations” to extinguish the remaining flames and make sure they had not spread.
The homeowner had lit a fire on Friday night, and put it out before going to bed. During the night, however, he smelled smoke, but saw no visible smoke. He was getting ready to leave the house on Saturday morning when he again smelled smoke. This time, he saw flames coming from a metal “clean-out grate” on the fireplace, and there were flames in the basement ceiling. He then called 911.
The East Hampton Town Fire Marshal’s office responded to determine the cause of the fire, which was not deemed suspicious. Dwayne Denton, a fire marshal, reported that embers had dropped down into a grate for cold air intake, which was built in front of the fireplace, not in the side or the back as is standard. The screen was off, allowing the embers to drop down to plywood under the hearth. They smoldered all night, finally catching a floor joist on fire, which was when the homeowner saw flames coming through the grate.
Mr. Denton said was it a good reminder to homeowners, as they begin using their fireplaces this fall, to make sure they have the proper equipment such as screens. Chief Turza also recommended that fireplaces and chimneys be checked “to ensure that all components are in working order and free of debris or animal nests” before lighting the logs.