Last night as we settled in for some TV watching John made a fire. He is a good fire builder and has a whole set of steps he goes through etc. He is always telling me how to do this in case I make one when he is gone which I doubt I would do. If I can't flip a switch for the gas fireplace it is doubtful I'll build one just for myself.

He heard a roaring whoosh sound as I noticed a fire like no other, no pretty flickery flames, just a sheet of flame. Upstairs we have 13 windows at the ceiling level that are high up in the stairwell and 2 bathrooms. Through the windows he could see red from the fire coming out the chimney on the roof!

I called 911 (which took wayyyyyy too many rings, probably 10+) and he shut the flew. Of course the house filled up with smoke and John broke up the fire and threw the logs outside. Many nice firemen came with many fire trucks. Apparently the creosote in the chimney caught fire. This was our third fire, why now, who knows. So we need a visit from people who clean chimneys even though the firemen think we probably burnt all the creosote out now. But we think an inspection would be good.

The house reeks of smoke. Need to talk to the insurance company and see what needs to be done. The fireplace chimney goes through our closets so I am sure clothes all need to be washed or drycleaned etc. Guess I'll turn the heat off, open some windows and pack up and go work at a coffee shop.

Luckily John did the right things very quickly and the firemen did not need to use any water so damage is mostly smoke...