Chimney Fire... now what?

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boulderjoe

New Member
Oct 4, 2008
8
Colorado
Good Afternoon!
I haven't been on this forum for about three years. Up to that point I was a daily reader... but after building my Hearth pad, installing my Lodi Answer, and building my chimney, I enjoyed myself so much that I haven't had a problem... until monday. I was sick and in bed all day. In the afternoon my wife build a fire in the stove but used all the kindling to start it. I was sitting there thinking, "damn, that's a lot of wood," but I didn't say anything. Well, 5 minutes later, the fire alarm goes off and there an acrid, burnt rubber smoke smell in the air. I felt the double-wall stove pipe and it was real hot. I ran outside and the were embers and dark, heavy smoke coming out of the top. I ran around for about 30s before we decided "Chimney Fire" and called 911. I then ran outside, connected the hose, grabbed the ladder and ran to the roof. I yanked off the cap and poured water down the chimney. Billowing dark smoke and steam came out. I got down, ran in, climbed into the attic and didn't see smoke or flames in the attic space so I went back to the roof and poured more water down the chimney. Then the firetrucks arrived. I was so full of adrenaline I couldn't even speak for awhile. Everything is okay. But that was one of the scariest moments of my life....? What happened (before answering, please read on)

Today I got up on the roof and looked down the chimney... The top half has a few thin wispy flakes of creosote... a tiny bit. Basically clean. When I looked up from the bottom with a mirror, it seems really clean - almost shiny. When I moved the bricks over the firebox nothing fell down. (I read that the creosote can fall down the chimney, and pile up at the base, which would be on top of the bricks) I clean my chimney once or twice a year. I went in the attic and inspected my DuraVent plus pipe and the seams are solid, no distortions, no discolorations. I used to have a thermometer but my small kids destroyed it (I just bought a new "in the pipe" thermometer today)

At this point, what happened and what should I do? After cleaing my stove and replacing the bricks, can I build a fire?
 
i imagine it would be clean after a chimney fire forsure.. i would just inspect the pipe good before starting a fire, it sounds like you already have.
 
Do you have one of those corrugated metal chimneys I've seen that have the spiral grooves in it? I'm not a stove guru, but to me the spiral grooves look like a place for creosote to deposit and not easily be cleaned out with a conventional chimney brush. Is there any possibility this had something to do with it? Glad to hear everyone was ok and your house survived too, that had to be scary as all get out.
 
He's got dura vent plus, corrugated metal chimney sounds like a red neck chimney, is it used before or after its life as a culvert?
 
Well now you know you have a good chimney :)
Handled a chimney fire & the house is still there.

Now you need to address the build up of creo. Clean more often, burn hotter fires, & prepare for better/drier wood for next season.
When I was burning wet , barely seasoned wood, (after a chimney fire) I brushed the chimney every month & got quit a bit. (I burned hotter fire too.)
Now, new stove & 2 year seasoned wood, very little creo build up.

A great learning experience that you don't want to repeat ;)

After the minor repairs,yYou should be safe to build a fire, you have a clean chimney now :)

Glad it was just a learning experience & not major & everyone is OK.
Good luck,
 
oldspark said:
He's got dura vent plus, corrugated metal chimney sounds like a red neck chimney, is it used before or after its life as a culvert?
Click to expand...
No need for that Old Spark, Lets help the guy out.

First things first, was the chimney installed and inspected by a professional or did you do it yourself? Explain the set up a bit.

What type of wood are you burning? How long was it seasoned?

I would highly suggested getting a sweep out to take a look before starting another fire.

I am sure you will figure it out. Sounds like you had a creosote build up and the hot kindling fire set it off. I am sure you will figure it out and be all the wiser after this experience.
 
oldspark said:
He's got dura vent plus, corrugated metal chimney sounds like a red neck chimney, is it used before or after its life as a culvert?
Click to expand...

He's talking about the flex liner like Rockford sells.
 
oldspark said:
He's got dura vent plus, corrugated metal chimney sounds like a red neck chimney, is it used before or after its life as a culvert?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I don't know what duravent plus is. I assume by your response it's not "corrugated" or doesn't have the spiral grooves I was referring to. I was at the hearth store last week and they had the type of flue material I'm talking about on display. It looked like this:

index.php


To my amateur eye, this flue material looks like it could trap residual creosote even after cleaning. But then, like I said, I'm no stove guru.
 
Have you identified what set off the smoke alarm and is there any damage to that location? I would also want to have a sweep inspect it and get his opinion on where along the flue the fire started. Maybe he could tell you where the buildup of creosote is located.

Thank God you are alright.
 
Woodrow said:
oldspark said:
He's got dura vent plus, corrugated metal chimney sounds like a red neck chimney, is it used before or after its life as a culvert?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I don't know what duravent plus is. I assume by your response it's not "corrugated" or doesn't have the spiral grooves I was referring to. I was at the hearth store last week and they had the type of flue material I'm talking about on display. It looked like this:

index.php


To my amateur eye, this flue material looks like it could trap residual creosote even after cleaning. But then, like I said, I'm no stove guru.
Click to expand...
Nope I'm sorry, did not realize you were talking about a liner and was trying to be funny. :sick: Duravent pipe is class A pipe I believe not a liner.
 
Does this pipe come in 3 foot sections? If so you could take it down in no time, and inspect each section.
 
glad everyone and everything is ok. i'm surprised about the water....isn't there a salt and baking soda mixture you can put in a paper bag that acts as a fire supressent? i thought some of the vol fire dpts use something like that in upstate n.y.. it helps keep the water from hitting the stove and having the potential of really messing things up. could be wrong. did you ever find out what kicked the alarm? once again, glad is ok....back to burning.....and checking the pipe on a regular basis.

cass
 
Thanks for all the posts, especially the Redneck comment! Did I mention the chimney fire was in my steel shed, next to hot plate and coffee pot? I almost caught my stuffed racoon head on fire!
No, actually, it was in my house, in the living room. Yes, it was a do-it-yourselfer job. It's been three years since I installed it, to code, using the best materials that I could find. Okay, here's some install information. The top half is Duraflex plus, the bottom half is double-wide duraflex stove pipe. There is a Duraflex box connector. There is a little jog (about 4") at the connector to get it to fit inbetween the rafters and studs. It is all extrememly smooth, flat stainless steel.
Another clue to this was the day before, my wife once again started the fire and it backed up on her as she started it. Smoke was pouring out of the vents. I quickly put more kindling on to get it to drew but that was weird.

To answer another question, No, I don't have seasoned firewood like I usually do. It's been a lot greener - Yup, I'll admit it although I don't want to.

Also, as of 10 minutes ago, I have a new in-the-flue thermometer and it's ready to go. Now, do I call a professional sweep? Do they have a camera or a just a professional expertise that I don't have? Well, duh, of course, they do.

It's super windy today so I'm not going to light anything....
 
As I think about it, why was there was smoke in the house? It wasn't obvious at first but it kicked off the smoke alarm which is on the ceiling about 8 feet away from where the pipe goes into the ceiling. When I went into the attic, there wasn't a whiff of smoke. Hmmmm. Where was the acrid smoke coming from? Does burning creosote smell like that? Or was it something else? Why was there smoke in the living room?
 
Not being there it is hard to say for sure. But I am wondering if there was really a chimney fire or just a very hot flue pipe due to the huge kindling fire. When the paint gets very hot it will outgas with fumes you can certainly smell. Still it would be a good idea to have a pro check it out. If it checks out ok and the stove shows no damage (including the bricks) I would just take out the bricks, dry it out, put the bricks back in and start with a small fire or two to further dry out the bricks.
 
What did it sound like? I had a chimney fire years ago with an old smoke dragon. Wife was with me in another room and all of the sudden heard a strange sound. I turned to her and asked why in the world she was making popcorn for breakfast. Needless to say NOT POPCORN ! A few weeks later, new (to me) EPA stove, new chimney, and a new cast iron planter in the front yard.
 
BeGreen said:
Not being there it is hard to say for sure. But I am wondering if there was really a chimney fire or just a very hot flue pipe due to the huge kindling fire. When the paint gets very hot it will outgas with fumes you can certainly smell. Still it would be a good idea to have a pro check it out. If it checks out ok and the stove shows no damage (including the bricks) I would just take out the bricks, dry it out, put the bricks back in and start with a small fire or two to further dry out the bricks.
Click to expand...
i was thinking the same thing. i would think youd see a flame in that pipe as well.
 
Yeah, you guys may be right. I didn't see a flame, or a glow as I took the cap off... it was about 4:30pm on a cloudy day... However, after talking with my wife, we agreed that there was smoke in the house that had a new and particular smell... she described it as a burning rubber gasket.. yeah, thats about right... that's new to us after having used that stove for 3 years and 200+ fires. I've used mirrors and a flashlight to look at every corner of this system and I don't see soot/burns/strange discoloration in the vents, air intakes, or around any seams.... I'm going to call a chimney guy to check it out before I get a hot fire going again. That was amazingly scary.
 
If it's any consolation, many if not most of us have had a spaceout once in a while. That's why that hot paint smell + stove dust burnoff is familiar to some of us.
 
Trktrd said:
What did it sound like? I had a chimney fire years ago with an old smoke dragon. Wife was with me in another room and all of the sudden heard a strange sound. I turned to her and asked why in the world she was making popcorn for breakfast. Needless to say NOT POPCORN ! A few weeks later, new (to me) EPA stove, new chimney, and a new cast iron planter in the front yard.
Click to expand...

Man, this thread is full of redneck tips isn't it? :p
 
BeGreen - that is exactly what I was thinking. Smell form something (pipe or stove) slightly over-firing which would give the smell. If the box was packed with kindling , I have sometimes seen it smoke like crazy if some of it is wet and packed in there so they flow is not ideal. Granted that usually limits the stove getting hot which is a tad bit perplexing...but I am thinking that you smelled off gassing, and the smoke and embers was from a roaring kindling fire (as in the smoke was not as black as you may recall). Just a thought since based on what you have stated, a chimney fire would seem less likely.

Regardless, I would have someone come in to take a look that is reputable and has years of looking at chimneys. It will run you a hundred plus bucks, but it will likely confirm what you have seen and assessed yourself. Then, you can rest assured you are safe, and then validate your skills of sweeping and inspecting. Its like getting three things for one price...a lesson, certification and the actual inspection.
 
greythorn3 said:
i imagine it would be clean after a chimney fire forsure.. i would just inspect the pipe good before starting a fire, it sounds like you already have.
Click to expand...

Everyone needs a good chimney fire once in a while to blow out the carbon.
 
Sounds like a chimney fire to me, especially with the smell being described that wasn't smelled before, embers & dark smoke coming out the top, and a shiney clean pipe after it's done. They can and usually do start down low, so some smoke likely spit back into the room to make the smell & smoke detector go off - especially since you said it sent smoke into the room the day before. Sounds like you have a good smoke detector, although not sure why it didn't go off the day before too. Since you've got a chimney guy coming, wait to see what he says - but I suspect you're good to go. Keep on top of the creosote though.
 
FWIW, I also vote a small chimney fire.

I had a very similiar experience years ago with a smoke dragon. My wife loaded a couple super dry splits on some hot, hot coals. About 10 minutes later, a very interesting odor starting wafting upstairs. I ran down to the stove, which look like hell itself inside. I closed down the draft and ran outside. Chimney had some dark smoke coming out, but nothing too crazy.

I'm 99% sure my situation was really a "stovepipe" fire and not a chimney fire. By that I mean the creosote build up in the stovepipe ignited from the super hot fire. That proceeded to burn even hotter, which caused the stovepipe to stink something fierce. Luckily, the chimney itself did not have enough creosote to ignite and cause a real-deal chimney fire.

Check for any small leaks in your stovepipe, which can cause creasote to build up, even if the rest of your chimney is staying relatively clean. Also, while technically not necessary with a modern setup, good wood, and good burning habits, it can never hurt to burn nice hot fires on a regular basis to burn off any gunk before it really starts to accumulate.
 
My gut feeling is that this was a chimney fire . . . or as mentioned it could be the flue getting very hot.

If it was a chimney fire the reason the reason the flue is clean could be due to the fire and heat "self cleaning" by burning off the gunk . . . or the fire department may have run their brush through the flue.

If it was a chimney fire . . . how did it happen? . . . by burning wood that is not fully seasoned and/or not inspecting and cleaning the chimney on a regular basis (another reason I always suggest at least checking monthly) and/or not burning at the right temps (which is why I am glad to hear you have purchased a probe style thermometer.)

How did the fire start? Wife gets the flue good and hot with a boat load of kindling . . . probably left the air control open to help with the draft . . . either a spark or the high heat from the kindling catches the creosote on fire.

Why is there smoke coming out of the stove? Draft is effected by a full or partly plugged chimney . . . smoke goes out the easiest way it can which could be through the stove or lower pipe connections.

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Now as stated this could also be off-gassing from a very hot flue . . . i.e. putting in a whole lot of kindling and leaving the air control open all the way. The smoke and smell could be the gas and not smoke. As for the embers . . . it's possible that if the draft is going really well you could be seeing bits of creosote or fly ash flying out.


----

My advice . . . get the thermo and install it (check), get a chimney sweep to check the chimney, check and clean the chimney if necessary on a monthly basis . . . and get well soon.
 
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