Maddie Nickel said she and a coworker lit the fireplace at The Black Goose Inn like they do every day when they heard a ‘boom’ sound from the chimney.
“This time, it was lit, it was fine, it was going. And all of a sudden we heard like a boom sound and then the chimney started to rumble,” said Nickel, manager of The Black Goose Inn. It was very strange. "We assumed something was going on; so we put out the fire right away and then we noticed smoke coming from various areas around the fireplace; from the wood and various areas.”
Nickel said they put the fire out, but fire started to drop from the chimney. That was when she said they decided to call the fire department.
Norris said there were creosote issues, and that since it’s an old building the masonry could be compromised. Norris said crews went inside The Black Goose Inn and onto the roof. Three trucks and about a dozen firefighters attended the fire.
On the roof, Norris said, firefighters used a fire mist chimney hose which they put in the chimney and moved it up and down the chimney quickly until the blaze was extinguished.
Nickel said the chimney needs to be cleaned and inspected before use because of the buildup of creosote in the chimney.
She said she and her staff been using the fireplace since the beginning of October, and "it was just a fluke that this happened to happen today."
— NEWS Staff