Fire department called to roof fire Friday afternoon

Pat White made an urgent phone call Friday afternoon, to notify the Green River Fire Department of smoke coming out of her neighbor's Tom and Paula Wall's house across the street.

White said she first noticed the smoke when she looked outside to see why her neighbor's dogs were barking. The dogs were inside of the neighbor's house, the neighbors away to lunch. She called right away.

"They're like family for me. I'd do anything for them," White said.

The Green River Fire Department arrived on scene shortly after they received the call at 1 p.m. and were on scene until 3 p.m. that afternoon.

Green River Fire Assistant Chief Mike Liberty said smoke was wafting out of the house roof vents because combustible materials, insulation was too close to the wood burning chimney.

"The chimney got things smoldering," Liberty said.

The insulation started smoldering, which started the wood of the roof to smolder next.

Liberty said the fire itself was contained to the attic space, which is better for the home owners.

The roof will have to be replaced, but it did not reach inside the house. The firefighters pried open parts of the roof to cool the roof off with water. This smothered the fumes and stopped the burning process.

"It definitely was not as bad as it could have been," Liberty said. "It definitely could have been worse."