PORT LUDLOW — Firefighters contained a chimney fire before it could spread to the rest of the home Tuesday afternoon.
Just before noon, Peg Williams of 30 Condon Lane heard crackling, then smelled smoke and called the Port Ludlow Fire Department.
She grabbed her dog, a schipperke named Missy, and left the house.
Firefighters arrived in seven minutes and were soon joined by crews from Kitsap County, Quilcene, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue and Naval Magazine Indian Island, according to Port Ludlow Fire Chief Brad Martin.
Martin said the scene was cleared at about 4:30 p.m. and that the chimney fire, which set the roof ablaze, was determined to have been accidental.
Aside from the roof, the house was mostly undamaged, Martin said.
Williams said she hadn’t used the fireplace for about a month but had burned some small pieces of wood early Tuesday morning.
She said it appeared that water used to fight the fire did more damage than the fire itself.
Williams said her husband, Dale, had built the house himself.
The couple have lived there since 2005.
“He’ll have some more work to do,” she said.
Neighbor Ann Moss said the neighborhood was close-knit, and the Williamses already had a place to stay.
“It’s a good thing that this didn’t happen at night or when I was out running errands,” Williams said.
“It could have been so much worse.”
