The recurring theme here is that people call the non-emergency line and then are surprised when the fire department shows up with all their trucks anyway. But there is a good reason for this: People are frequently embarrassed to call the fire department and tend to minimize the problem when reporting it ("Oh, it's just a small fire on my stove that I can't quite get to go out; no real problem other than I can't breath right now"). By the time the fire truck rolls in a few minutes later, it turns out this was in fact a real problem and needed all the gear and tools that the firefighters have access to on their trucks. If the caller only reports the smell of smoke, it's quite possible there is nothing much to worry about. There also is the possibility that the moment somebody investigates and opens the door to where the fire has been smoldering for hours, air rushes in an a major fire starts within seconds. At that point, you really don't want to wait another 10 minutes for the trucks to roll in. You need them right then and there. I don't know about all jurisdictions. But in most cases that I am familiar with, the fire department will happily come out to you and investigate, even if it turns out to be "nothing". And you shouldn't get charged for it. But there always could be exceptions. Also, if they subsequently call an ambulance, that's when you might see charges.

I have a few rentals and my last tenant was a smoker (we did have a non smoking clause in the lease but what can you do to police them). The house reeked when she moved out. I was sick to my stomach when I walked in because I knew the amount of work I would have to do to erase it. She said she only smoked in the dining room and bedroom so she didn't think it was a big deal. Ummm...smoke goes everywhere in open concept houses you imbecile. First you have to wash every wall/ceiling surface and all woodwork with a cleaning solution to remove the nicotine. Otherwise it will seep through water based paint and turn it yellow. I used vinegar and ammonia in water with a few drops of detergent. I forget the amounts but you can google for recipes. I changed the water in every room at least. Then I had to paint all walls and ceilings. The woodwork seemed ok after cleaning so I left it as I just had painted it when the prior tenant moved out. I used the same solution on the hardwoods and cleaned multiple times. All window treatments were thrown out (weren't mine anyway). I also wiped out all cabinets as well. If you have ductwork, get it cleaned as well and change the furnace filter. All carpet and fabric things will need to be removed as well. Literally every surface in the house needs to be wide down as the smoke goes everywhere. It took me a full weekend of wiping down before I was ready for paint. When I was finished, it was almost back to normal. There was a slight off smell but not specifically smoke. I think the smoke got into attic spaces and insulation etc but it is definitely habitable and over time should be back to normal. Good luck. edited to add that the brick fireplace seemed fine. I did scrub it with cleaning solution.

Activated charcoal can help absorb the stuff. Lay out some trays of it in out of the way places - inside the cabinet with the doors open for example. You might try baking soda as well - if any of these compounds are weakly acidic, they will be absorbed by baking soda. I recently had a terrible fridge odor from rotten beans and once I removed them, it still stunk until I put a plate of baking soda in there. Not guaranteed to work but it doesn't cost much. I would also leave the door open rather than shut so it can dissipate.

A few weeks ago dh and I went up to our cabin in the mountains. We lit the fire to warm the place up not realizing the lever to open the flue had become disconnected. We realized there was a problem pretty quickly but the house still filled with smoke. So I went up there today to checo on a few things and was dismayed to find the smoke smell has barely dissipated. Any suggestions?