Fairplay CO: Shortly after 10 a.m. on November 27, North-West Fire responded to a reported chimney fire on Lamb Mountain Road in the Warm Springs subdivision south of Fairplay. Three engines and a water tender responded with eleven firefighters to battle the fire, along with South Park Ambulance and two Park County Sheriff officers.

Once on scene, firefighters found the fire had spread to the roof and attic. Fire crews were quickly able to extinguish the chimney fire and then set to work on the attic and roof. Due to the quality of construction of the home, firefighters had to work hard to pull drywall and insulation from inside the home to access the fire that was running through a large part of the attic near the chimney. The fire was extinguished after firefighters cleared the attic area and searched for any possible fire extension into the ceiling and walls.

The homeowners, who had recently purchased the home, had a chimney cleaning scheduled for the next day. "These homeowners were trying to do the right thing", said Chief Mike Roll. "They had scheduled to have the chimney cleaned and were just very unfortunate in the timing of everything. This should be a very vivid reminder to all homeowners they need to make sure their chimney is kept clean and the spark arrestor kept free of any debris."

North-West Fire is proud to announce its new engine has arrived and is in service for the community. The new engine is a shorter wheelbase and four-wheel drive rig that can get to a much larger portion of the district than previous engines owned by the district.

The engine, which is less than 2 weeks old, has already proven worthy. "It was baptized by fire at the November 27 Warm Springs chimney fire," according to Chief Mike Roll. "The location of this home would have proven nearly impossible for us to access with our old engines, but this new one got right up there and pumped like a champ."