London Britain Township Chimney Fire
 
By Captain Tim Shannon
January 7, 2017
 

On January 7, at 18:04 hours, the West Grove Fire Company was dispatched to a house fire on the 500 block of Elbow Lane, in London Britain Township.

WGFC Ladder 22, Engine 22-1, Engine 22-2, Engine 22-3, Chief 22, Asst. 22, Amb 22-3 all responded quickly after dispatch. Mutual aid from 2 surrounding states also responded to assist. Asst 22, along with Squad 9 (Newark Del) were the first to arrive on scene and reported a working chimney fire. Large amount of flames and embers were seen coming out of the chimney.

Chief 22 arrived, assuming Elbow Lane Command, with the Assistant taking the Operations role.

As units arrived, crews attempted to get to the top of chimney, to clear away the chimney cap for inspection. But with the snow and ice that recently had fallen, it made the attempt to reach the top non accessible. Crews went inside and first removed the burning logs from within the fire box. Once that was clear, crews checked for extension of any fire, but none was detected; the fire was contained from within the chimney. The interior crew also sprayed a Dry Chemical Extinguisher from inside, and, with the draft from above, the extinguishing agent was pulled up the chimney and smothered the smoldering fire from within.


With that, Chief 22 held the assignment to the units on the scene: Ladder 22, Engine 22-2, Engine 22-3, Squad 9 (Newark Del), Quint 7 (Newark Del) and Engine 14 (Elkton MD). The balance of West Grove and Oxford units were returned.

Units were on scene for just under one hour, until being released by command.
 
Units: Ladder 22, Engines 22-1/2/3, Tanker 22, Fire Police
 
Mutual Aid: Cecil Engine 14, Oxford Engines 21-1/2/4 and Ladder 21, Newark Squad 9 and Quint 7, Rescue 27, and Tanker 21
 
WGFC firefighters Joe Pearson and Bill Wohl explain to the homeowner the steps taken by the WGFC and how the wall temperature was being monitored using a thermal imaging camera.
WGFC firefighters Joe Pearson and Bill Wohl explain to the homeowner the steps taken by the WGFC and how the wall temperature was being monitored using a thermal imaging camera.
 
This chimney fireplace insert was emptied by WGFC crews while checking for fire extension.
This chimney fireplace insert was emptied by WGFC crews while checking for fire extension.
 
The apparatus line up along Elbow Lane.
The apparatus line up along Elbow Lane.
 
Icy conditions made it difficult for units to access the home directly.
Icy conditions made it difficult for units to access the home directly.
 
This Elbow Lane dwelling was the location of a working chimney fire that drew units from five fire companies across PA, Delaware and Maryland.
This Elbow Lane dwelling was the location of a working chimney fire that drew units from five fire companies across PA, Delaware and Maryland.