Hanover firefighters were called out Monday afternoon, responding to smoke inside a residence.

Fire Chief Paul Wiebe says the call came from an alarm company for a residence just south of Mitchell. When crews arrived, there was nobody at home.

"They did notice that there was light smoke in the house, so they made entry and located the fire near the wood stove," explains Wiebe. "Which they extinguished very quickly."

Wiebe says it appears the smoke was the result of a burning piece of wood that had not been placed entirely into the wood stove. He notes there was no major damage, though crews were able to assist with ventilating the home. Wiebe says firefighters were on scene for about 45 minutes. 

Even though there was no one home at the time, Wiebe says he is not sure how serious the fire could have grown, had it gone undetected for much longer. Nonetheless, he stresses the importance of making sure furnaces, wood stoves and chimneys are in good working order, especially because many of them are now being fired up again at this time of year, after a long layoff. 

Wiebe adds the homeowners returned while crews were still on scene. There were no injuries.