It does work, because I am TOO good of a driver, I don't get into wrecks, therefore no need to deal with the consequences of having a wreck. The analogy was not to be taken literally, but thanks for explaining your interpretation.
Regardless, newbies should not be made to feel stupid for asking that question and deserve a proper answer, one that is not "don't have chimney fires." What if I'm at a friends or relatives house and they experience a chimney/flue fire? Telling them to burn dry wood isn't going to help anyone. I am here to gain information, not to get ridiculed if I ask a question that someone who has been burning for 45 years thinks is dumb. This last statement applies to the OP, Osage Orange that is 15+ years old (probably twice that), I have no idea how it will react inside of a stove. Thankfully, lukem and tfdchief have and they both gave me the answer that I needed. This thread was not started to address chimney fires and I'd like to keep it that way. Any experience with extremely old osage orange, hedge, yellow wood, hedge apple tree, whatever you want to call it, let me know about it. Thanks.
You may rest assured that the intention was not to make anyone feel stupid . . . that's one reason this is my favorite site . . . it doesn't matter if you've joined the day before or five years ago . . . everyone is welcome and all input is appreciated . . . folks that ask questions -- even if they've been asked a bazillion times before (i.e. What type of stove should I get? Why doesn't my new-fangled woodstove work? etc.) are patiently answered instead of being brusquely told to do a search.
Rather, my intent was to suggest that while the concern is legitimate . . . you can avoid even having to worry about this situation in most cases by running the stove properly, following the proper installation directions, burning seasoned wood and checking/cleaning the stove regularly. I sincerely apologize if you think I was ridiculing you as that is not the way I roll.
Since you asked . . . and Jags is "needling" me a bit . . . if a chimney fire did break out I would suggest several options.
1. Call 911 . . . first and foremost. You may not need the firefighters . . . but better to have them on their way. You can always call back and inform them that the fire is under control.
2. Cut off the air to the stove and chimney. Block the incoming air of the stove (it behooves folks to find out where the air comes into their stove) . . . you can use some aluminum foil. This may be more difficult with inserts. The fire will most likely continue to burn, but without a good draft moving through the fire may slow down some.
3. On masonry chimneys with clean outs (we see a lot of these up here still vs. installs with liners, Class A, etc.) you can open up the clean out and fire an ABC dry chemical extinguisher or if any hot embers drop down you can sprinkle a little water on them which will convert to steam.
4. With stoves with "direct" connections with a liner, Class A, etc. you may have some luck in opening up the door and firing off the extinguisher or throwing on some water soaked newspaper -- but honestly we try not to do this in the FD . . . partly because of the mess and because of the possible damage to the stove.
5. Our preferred method of extinguishment involves getting on a roof and dropping down "chimney bombs" of ABC dry chemical extinguishing agent in plastic Ziplock baggies . . . or we drop a brush down . . . or sadly in most cases, and these seem to be the ones we always get called out to . . . drop a heavy steel weight and chain down the chimney. to knock out the creosote plug that is often formed.