A chimney fire brought the Verona Fire Department to 45 Otsego Road this evening just before 9 p.m.
Homeowner Greg Francisco said a passerby knocked on his door to alert him to flames coming out of his chimney. He called 911 and quickly got his wife and daughter out of the house. “The Verona Fire Department was here in 2 or 3 minutes with all these trucks,” he said. “If it had been a major blaze they would have had it out in no time.”
As Francisco talked, the department’s newest ladder truck extended its bucket toward his roof so that the firefighters could peer in for a closer inspection. “Thank God they have that truck,” he said.
“My neighbor up the block, Matty Valentine, is a fireman, and I’ve seen him interrupt a barbecue to answer a fire call,” Francisco said. “I’ve always wondered how fast they get to a fire. Now I know.”
