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Chimney fire contained at Mirror Lake Inn

Scare at hotel as firefighters battle flames

Lake Placid firefighter John Fagan uses chains to loosen burning material — likely soot — inside a chimney of the Mirror Lake Inn’s main building in Lake Placid Saturday morning. (Photo provided — Tonya Woodard)

LAKE PLACID — Guests at the Mirror Lake Inn woke up to a scare Saturday morning as a chimney fire in the hotel’s main building forced some to evacuate.

A smoky odor filled the building, but no one was hurt.

The Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department was called to the high-end hotel at 77 Mirror Lake Drive at 7 a.m. as a fire had ignited in the chimney’s piping from the fireplace below, located in an annex to the lobby. Four trucks and 30 fire department members reported to the hotel and applied dry chemicals to extinguish flames rising out of the top of the building’s chimney. The fire was contained to the chimney and didn’t spread into the structure’s walls.

The fire department said it extinguished the fire from the top down, using chains along with the dry chemicals to knock what was burning within the chimney — likely soot — below into the fireplace itself.

The Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department provided mutual aid on scene while the Wilmington Volunteer Fire Department was on standby at the Lake Placid station. The Lake Placid Volunteer Ambulance Service was on standby at the scene.

Firefighters use chains to loosen burning material — likely soot — inside a chimney of the Mirror Lake Inn’s main building in Lake Placid Saturday morning. (Photo provided — Tonya Woodard)

Firefighters were back in service at 9:57 a.m. A member of the department said the lingering haze and smoky odor in the building is due to the dry chemicals.

Inside the main building around 9:30 a.m., hotel employees worked to clean up a disheveled lobby area where rugs were pulled up around the ashy fireplace. An employee of the hotel disposed of simmering ashes outside of the building while front desk attendants communicated with guests who had been displaced, though they were thankful for their safety after they smelled the strong odor of smoke earlier in the morning.

“We would like to extend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to Chief Matt Marshall and the Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department as well as the surrounding and supporting fire departments who responded so quickly and efficiently to the chimney fire here at the Inn this morning,” Mirror Lake Inn owners Ed and Lisa Weibrecht said in a statement Saturday. “Fortunately, the incident resulted in only minor smoke damage. Their response was outstanding and very considerate of our situation. We greatly appreciate their assistance, which was instrumental in helping us take care of our guests and allowing us to continue with business as usual. Thank you.”

An ashy fireplace off the lobby of the Mirror Lake Inn's main building has the rugs pulled up around it after a chimney fire was contained by firefighters Saturday morning at the hotel at 77 Mirror Lake Drive, Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Antonio Olivero)

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