CAMDEN — The first time Camden firefighters were sent to 26 High St. (Route 1) Thursday morning for a reported structure fire, at 9:09, Fire Chief Chris Farley said the homeowner reported smelling "something warm upstairs."

A check of the area around the woodstove and the chimney included taking readings with a thermal imaging camera, from the stove up through the roof. Farley said the camera indicated a small area of the chimney showing a reading of 120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

With nothing more showing and no apparent fire, Farley and his crew cleared the scene about 30 minutes after they arrived.

"The homeowner indicated he had cleaned the chimney six months ago," said Farley. "They were going to stay at home and monitor the stove and chimney, and call back if they had any concerns."

But No sooner had Engine 5 and ladder truck returned to the station, and they were called back out to 26 High St., at 9:42 a.m.

This time, the homeowner reported seeing a fire inside the chimney.

"The homeowner was checking the chimney from the roof when he saw fire in the chimney as he looked down into it," said Farley.

Using a heavy, balled-up bunch of chain atop the roof, firefighters knocked the smoldering fire and clogged soot and creosote down from inside the chimney into its ash dump in the basement. From there, a few bucket-fulls of the ash and smoldering material were collected, removed from the home via a side bulkhead door, cooled with water and disposed of.