By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A woman’s hair was singed when a man poured gasoline down his chimney in Centralia last night, causing an explosion that blew the insert right out of the fireplace.
It normally takes two grown men to move a fireplace insert, they’re heavy, Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Scott Weinert said. But when the fuel hit the fireplace, the blast shot the insert out about four feet into the room, he said.
“It was heard by a lot of people, it rocked the area a little,” Weinert said.
The resident on the 200 block of West Walnut Street had a bees nest in the chimney and had started a fire to smoke the bees out, according to Weinert.
“That didn’t work, so he went up on the roof and poured old gasoline down the chimney,” he said.
No serious injuries were reported.
Firefighters who responded to the 7:43 p.m. call recommended he get his chimney inspected before using it again.
The resident said he thought since the fuel was old, it would be okay, Weinert said.
The man may need to call a professional exterminator as well; the bees survived, according to Weinert.