WESTPORT — Fire officials are underscoring safety precautions after dousing a house fire ignited by combustible materials stored too close to fireplace Wednesday night.

Firefighters were dispatched about 7:20 p.m. Wednesday to Terra Nova Circle where a home’s occupant reported the dwelling was filling with smoke.

Three engines, a ladder truck and the shift commander answered the call.

At the scene, fire crews found smoke filling the home’s first floor and and basement.

The source of the smoke, according to the report by Assistant Fire Chief Jeffrey Gootman, was a small fire in the basement caused when combustibles too close to a gas fireplace ignited.

The blaze was quickly extinguished, he said.

In a report issued after the fire, officials noted the National Fire Protection Association recommends keeping anything that burns at least three feet away from heating equipment, including fireplaces.

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