POULSBO — Poulsbo Fire, North Kitsap Fire and Rescue, Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue and Navy Region NW responded to a residential structure fire at 3:30 a.m. Saturday on the 26000 block of Circle Drive, south of the Hood Canal Bridge. When firefighters arrived on scene, they found a chimney fire had extended into the attic and siding of the house. The residents — a couple, their teenage son, and two dogs — had evacuated the house.  The father was attempting to extinguish the fire from a second story deck using a garden hose.

Firefighters had to break through the living room ceiling to gain access to the attic and locate the hot spots.

“The homeowner likely saved the rest of the house by dousing the area with the garden hose,” Poulsbo Fire Department Captain Brooks said. “It was a stubborn fire because it had spread into the insulation and siding.” Firefighters remained on scene for about three hours extinguishing hot spots.

The Kitsap County Fire Marshal investigated the fire and determined the fire was accidental. Officials say that apparently the home owners put a “cleaning” log in the fireplace. The logs work by burning  off the creosote inside the chimney. When there’s too much creosote built up, however, the chimney gets too hot and ignites the surrounding structure. This type of fire is not uncommon.

“It is what happened in this morning’s fire,” Brooks said. “The chimney got so hot, it ignited the wooden structure surrounding the chimney.”

The home owners could not stay in the home because of damage to the ceiling and roof, but they declined assistance from Red Cross. The homeowners are insured. There were no injuries.