Chimney burns at Walton's funeral home

The crematorium chimney at Walton's Chapel of the Valley caught fire Monday, destroying the chimney enclosure.

The fire started from the radiant heat emitting from the chimney. The funeral home, at 1281 N. Roop St. in Carson City, suffered the setback from no real fault of its own, said Battalion Chief Eric Bero. The fire brick merely lost its integrity for some reason. No one was injured.

"It's unfortunate for the business that the chimney deteriorated the way it did," he said. "They did everything that they should have been doing."

He said many chimney fires start because they haven't been properly cleaned, though this one showed no evidence of that.

Fifteen firefighters and two deputies responded and were able to quickly subdue the fire, he said.

"It was pretty straightforward," Bero said.

He said the alarm was quickly raised after employees at the funeral home and at nearby business smelled or saw the fire. The business was able to keep operating with minimal interruption also, he said.

"We always work hard to keep merchants running or get them up and running as quick as we can," he said.