A mid-morning blaze that reportedly started in a chimney sent several county fire departments rocketing to a residence in Millhousen Tuesday.

Responding to the scene at the home on County Road 220 SE were the Marion Township/Millhousen Volunteer Fire Department, the Letts VFD and the fire departments from Westport, Napoleon and Letts.

Matt Stone, a Millhousen firefighter, explained that the department had received a call about a chimney fire. When Stone and his fellow firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after 10 a.m., the fire had already spread to the front of the house, shooting flames out of the front facade and jutting fire into the air from the roof. The homeowner had already exited the dwelling when the firefighters arrived.

The crews immediately began to douse the blaze with water. After about 10 minutes of battling the fire, the ceiling of the home caved.

“It was all defensive fire fighting up to that point,” Stone said.

As the fire was knocked back and put out, the firefighters continued to soak the building to extinguish any embers that might have still dwelt within. Representatives from the Red Cross also responded to the site of the fire and took the homeowner’s information. Stone said that the homeowner did have a relative nearby that he would stay with.

The flames dwindled and the still smoldering parts of the house were exterminated. Once the fire was out, the firefighters stayed behind for a while to make sure the fire did not erupt again.

Unfortunately, the home was likely a total loss, Stone remarked. He said that the chimney was the likely culprit for the cause of the conflagration, but noted that there will be an investigation later.