Paradise fire put out by joint department effort

PARADISE – The Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District responded to a structure fire in Paradise, late Tuesday morning, cutting into the upper floor of the building to douse the flames.

Smoke was billowing from the eves of the building when the firefighters arrived and set to work. They cut a hole in the side of the attic and one in the roof before turning their hoses on the openings to put out the flames. Once the initial fire was extinguished, they entered the residence to clean up any hot spots that may have continued to burn or reignite.

The department responded to the fire with one truck and a tender; once they arrived, and saw the fire itself, they called in the Plains City Fire Department for mutual aid. Captain Marlin Cooper, of Plains-Paradise Rural Fire, noted this is their standard procedure on structure fires where they may be short handed.

Cooper noted the fire was likely started as a result of the chimney’s age. He said it looked like flames had been shooting out of holes between the old brick and mortar, which eventually caught on the structure surrounding the chimney.

“It had probably been doing that for some time,” he said. “Those are old houses and those are not the safest chimneys.”

In all, two engines, a tender and approximately 11 firefighters were on scene. An ambulance was also on scene in case of injuries, though the residents and emergency personnel were all fine. It was noted the fire departments almost always bring an ambulance for a structure fire, just in case there are any injuries.

The structure was saved, though Cooper was not sure what its future would be. While there was very little structural damage, he noted the fire, smoke and water damage were expensive to repair.