MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon firefighters were able to extinguish a chimney fire Sunday evening before the fire caused any damage to the home at 616 E. Chestnut St.

Tracy Teal said she and her husband, Michael, were watching television around 7 p.m. when she heard what she thought might be a car driving by with a loud radio.

“We were watching the football game when we heard this rumbling,” Teal said, as she and neighbor Angie Tripp watched firefighters at the top of her chimney.

“I told him to go outside and see what the noise was, and then I went out and saw the flames,” she said.

Teal said she and her husband were able to get themselves and their two chocolate labs out of the house safely.

“I heard her knocking on my door, so I came outside to help,” Tripp said.

With the dogs safely tucked away in the warm garage to avoid the frigid, single-digit temperature, the two friends watched as firefighters worked for about an hour to clear the smoldering creosote from the chimney.

MVFD firefighter Eric Rutter said the fire was contained to the chimney leading from the home’s woodburner.

“There was no damage outside the chimney to the walls or anything,” Rutter said.

Firefighter Patrick Hornsby climbed to the roof and worked at the top of the chimney while secured with a safety line. He poured dry chemicals into the chimney to extinguish the flames.

“We knocked it down with the dry chemicals and then we knocked down the creosote with a chain, and then used more dry chemicals on that,” Rutter said. “We didn’t use any water on it.”

There was no fire or water damage to the home.

Eight firefighters remained on the scene for an hour. The fire was contained in about 30 minutes.

Rutter said he advised the Teals not to use the woodburner again until having it professionally cleaned.

Rutter said the home was equipped with working smoke detectors.