Blaze damages Petaluma home

A Saturday afternoon fire that sparked in the chimney of a Petaluma home drew a response from multiple agencies and caused an estimated $50,000 in damages, fire officials said.|

A Saturday afternoon fire that sparked in the chimney of a Petaluma home drew a response from multiple agencies and caused an estimated $50,000 in damages, fire officials said.

The owner of the house on the 1000 block of Daniel Drive had lit a fire in his fireplace and was splitting wood in his yard when he noticed flames burning through his wood-framed chimney, Petaluma Fire Department Battalion Chief Jeff Schach said in a news release.

Crews responding to the fire reported just before 4 p.m. arrived to find the top six feet of the chimney on the two-story house engulfed in flames, Schach said. Firefighters from Petaluma Fire Department, CalFire and Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District doused the flames from the chimney that had spread to the attic, knocking down the blaze around 4:15 p.m., Schach said.

No injuries were reported, though the fire caused “extensive damage” to an upstairs master bedroom and the electrical components in the room, Schach said.

Pacific Gas and Electric services were shut down, and the homeowner will stay with family until necessary electrical repairs are undertaken, he said.

He said investigators suspect the fire sparked in the wood chase of the chimney, potentially caused by a failure of the chimney flue.

(Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com)

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