The Piedmont Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at 140 St. James at 1:04am on Tuesday, May 21 after a Piedmont Police Officer observed a smell of smoke while on patrol.

Firefighters arrived at the scene within minutes to find fire burning on the main floor of the house. The building was located at the end of a long private drive too steep to for the engine to navigate, which is not uncommon in Piedmont. Firefighters carried hundreds of feet of hose up the hill on foot to reach the house and were able to extinguish the fire before it spread from the room of origin.

While the fire was controlled in under an hour, firefighters worked several more hours to ensure any hidden pockets of fire were fully extinguished.

“Earlier that day, our crews trained on a similar situation involving very long access roads. In this situation they did an excellent job building on that training to perform a fast and effective fire fight “ said Fire Chief Dave Brannigan. “This is a good example of the many secluded properties in Piedmont. Homeowners are urged to keep access lanes free of parked cars, trash bins, and vegetation at least 3 feet back from the roadway and 15 feet clear overhead.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Officials have no comment on a possible cause as the investigation is ongoing.