BATH — Firefighters saved a Bath home from serious damage Saturday evening after flames from a chimney fire spread into to the house.

The fire was contained to a single room. Bath Deputy Fire Chief Christopher Cummings said the home is still habitable and no one was hurt.

The fire in the chimney started due to creosote build-up. Wood burned slowly or that is wet or unseasoned can cause creosote to collect in the chimney.

“I would just remind people to clean their chimneys often,” Cummings said.  “At the end of a winter season or close to the end of a winter season, we see more people burning a lot of wood, especially since it’s been cold,” he said. “There’s been a short supply of dry firewood so people have been burning stuff that they can get and that means that their chimney needs to be cleaned more often.”

Built up soot and creosote or other chimney blockages can easily catch a flame, especially in winter when chimneys are used heavily. How often the chimney should be cleaned depends on what fuel sources people use. Fire officials recommend chimneys be inspected every year.

Bath Fire Department was called to 927 High Street shortly before 4 p.m.

Cummings said the crew worked to extinguish the chimney fire for approximately 45 minutes when firefighters noticed smoke coming out of the eaves.

“We kept an eye on that and then we discovered a small fire in the closet,” Cummings said. “At that point we pulled a first alarm that pulled in extra resources.”

According to the town’s online assessing database, the home was built in 1850. The age of the home, with its balloon structure, created extra difficulty for firefighters because of the void spots in the walls and floors. Due to the cold temperatures, extra precautions were taken by having extra fire trucks and personnel, “so that we can plan for anything unexpected,” Cummings said.

dmoore@timesrecord.com