Brandon Twp.- Babe Osmak and her husband, Grady Like, are looking for the angel who rang their doorbell at about 4:30 a.m. Dec. 8, telling them their chimney was on fire.
‘We were asleep and the doorbell rang,? recalls Osmak. ‘I answered the door, and a man there said flames were coming out of our chimney. I felt like it was a dream.?
Osmak ran back in her house, located at 31 S. Sashabaw Road, to call 9-1-1 and in the excitement, didn’t get the gray-haired man’s name, who she believes was on his way to work.
‘We have angels amongst us,? she said. ‘I want him to come over so I can give him a great big hug and say thank you.?
Osmak and Like have been heating their home with wood to save on the expensive costs of propane heating. They had a fire going in the fireplace while asleep, and creosote in the chimney, not cleaned in the past couple years, ignited.
Firefighters responded quickly, and Osmak expressed her gratitude to them, saying, ‘They were very professional, courteous and very well-trained, which reflects on their great training and dedication as firemen.?
Fire Chief Bob McArthur said they were on scene for about an hour ensuring the fire was out. Firefighters used a new thermal imaging camera, without which they would have had to tear walls open to make sure no fire was burning inside. There was only minor damage to the chimney.
Township firefighters respond to a few chimney fires every winter, caused by creosote build-up. This season, they’ve already responded to two, and McArthur is assuming they will see more due to the use of woodstoves. He advises residents to check the chimney and have it cleaned regularly.
‘Creosote is a by-product of burning and collects on the chimney and gets thicker and thicker, and once it is heated sufficiently it can ignite itself,? he said. ‘It has the sap and everything else from the wood in it and the more it builds up, the worse it gets. It should be cleaned twice a year, early in the season and toward the end.?
McArthur also expressed concerns about the use of kerosene or unvented natural gas heaters and potential carbon monoxide poisoning.
‘A lot of these appliances are not designed to be a home heating appliance, they’re just to warm a room or for very short-term use,? he said. ‘Some folks are using them all day and all night and they are just going to get themselves in trouble by doing that.?