WHATELY — Fire Chief JP Kennedy is advising the public to use caution when disposing of wood stove ashes after ashes that had been left outside for four days ignited a garage on fire on State Road Friday afternoon.
The Whately Police and Fire departments joined the South Deerfield Fire District to promptly extinguish the minor fire at around 1 p.m.
While smoke and flames were seen climbing the side of the garage when firefighters first arrived, Kennedy said a Good Samaritan teamed up with the homeowner to put out the bulk of the fire using the surrounding snow and a fire extinguisher, leaving only minor damage to the garage.
“The homeowner was home. He noticed it at the same time as the passerby stopped, so the 911 call came from a passerby or the homeowner, and the passerby was able to put out the majority of the fire with a fire extinguisher and some snow,” Kennedy said. “They kept the fire under control until the Fire Department got here and finished putting it out.”
Kennedy said that while the homeowner did his “due diligence” by leaving the ashes outside for four days prior to placing them in a plastic tote, the public should be aware that ashes can reignite for as long as a week.
“[The homeowner] had ashes from the wood stove. The ashes had been outside for four days, so they were confident that the ashes were cool. They had moved the ashes into a plastic tote, planning on putting it out in their compost pile. Even after four days, the ashes were still hot,” Kennedy said. “We want homeowners to be aware that ashes from wood stoves and fireplaces can remain hot for over a week. They should always be disposed of and stored away from anything combustible.”