Despite the milder than usual winter so far Napier firefighters have still been regularly called to chimney fires.
Callouts are often to homes where chimneys haven't been kept clean, says Napier station officer Peter Draper.
"They've been quite regular and it seems to come down to money - it costs to get them cleaned and it's something people tend to keep putting off."
While on most occasions the only fall-out from a chimney fire, which results from the build-up of ash and soot igniting, is like a "roman candle" burning out the top, the potential danger was always there.
Mr Draper said internal chimneys, where mortar may have broken creating gaps, allowed heat and smoke to discharge into ceiling spaces where they would continue to build up.