Fire Mystery Solved

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30193, 26 July 1963, Page 10

Fire Mystery Solved

The Christchurch Fire Brigade yesterday solved a chimney-fire mystery by discovering that a fireplace in a two-storey house has a one-storey chimney.

Mr J. A. Kemp, who rents the two-storey house at 144 Peterborough street, yesterday afternoon in the bitterly cold southerly decided to light the fire in the sitting-room on the ground floor. He had renovated the room, and had not previously lit the fire. The fire drew very well, and*soon was giving a warming blase.

Then Mr Kemp noticed smoke pouring from the eaves of the ground-floor roof, which obtrudes on both sides of the upper storey, containing three bedrooms. He telephoned the fire brigade at 334 p.m. to report a “faulty chimney,” and an engine was sent from the Central fire station less than half a mile from the house. Smoke was still pouring from the eaves, but

there were no flames. The firemen put out the fire with a bucket of water, then lifted the iron roofing. They discovered that the chimney top had been taken off, presumably when the second storey was added to the house, and that the halfchimney had not been capped.

Fortunately, the fire had not set alight to anything between the ceiling and the ground-storey roof, and the smoke had escaped through gaps between the roofing and eaves.

“The firemen were very, decent about it all. They" had never seen another chimney like it in Christchurch. A building inspector is calling tomorrow.” said Mr Kemp last evening. “The ironic part is that I engaged a chimney sweep before I lit the fire,” be added. “The sweep charged me 17s fid because it was a two-storey chimney.”