CHIMNEY FIRE!!!!!!!!!!

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fattyfat1

fattyfat1

New Member
Nov 8, 2008
104
SW WASHINGTON
Not me. the neighbors.
first time woodburners
open fireplace
rediculously wet wood, cut less than 3 months ago, been burning it 24/7 for two months. 2 cords of it.
recipe for disaster........averted
masonry chimney, ceramic lined.
went outside for a smoke, (no pun intended) and their chimney looked like a jet engine, flames 10 to 15 feet out the top for two minutes. then the fireworks began. thank goodness for the torrential rain we've had today. sparks like a fourth of july fountain, 10' up for the next five minutes. got the fire out in the fireplace, all is well.
roaring, smokey crap fire plus five pizza boxes at once in the fireplace caused this.
gave them some advice about seasoned, dry wood. DO NOT BURN ANYTHING BUT SEASONED, DRY WOOD IN YOUR FIREPLACE. told them NOT TO BURN AGAIN until chimney is inspected by a certified sweep.
my good deed will be to trade them seasoned, dry wood for their wet, sloppy, freshly cut disaster in the making. I can go to bed now.
 
Wow - Sounds like a fun show (since no one was hurt)! I'd put Pizza Boxes first on your list of what not to burn.
 
ahh come on they are already come with an application of fire expedient (the grease from the pepperoni).
 
I've had trouble burning pizza boxes in fire pits. I always figured they had a fire retardant on them. Since the place I buy pizza from stores them ontop of their oven I kinda figured...

Maybe my place orders a more expensive box?


Glad everybody came out ok.

Matt
 
If it's a masonry chimney I would bet the tile is cracked and possibly the cement blocks. An expensive fix We just had one two weeks ago in town and the chimney needs a total rebuild. Much cheaper to keep the chimney clean even if you pay a sweep. Be safe.
Ed
 
Bigg_Redd said:
Well, at least their chimney is clean now. . .
Click to expand...

not even. these people rent. the home owner i called, he climbed up on the roof and said there was still an inch of creosote in the chimney.
 
I wouldn't be real surprised if chimney fires are pretty common this year,with the price of oil and people being short on work,there will probably be a lot of people burning wood that haven't ever done it before.
 
I see a lot of wood just now being split and carried into houses for burning. And judging by the massive plumes of white smoke billowing out of many of chimneys in our area, the fire dept should be busy this winter. A lot of people fail to do any research before they start to burn, especially if their house has a fireplace or wood stove already in place. They saw it done as a kid or in the scouts or on TV. Just throw some wood in and away it goes. Never heard the word "creosote" before the fire department shows up.
 
caber said:
I see a lot of wood just now being split and carried into houses for burning. And judging by the massive plumes of white smoke billowing out of many of chimneys in our area, the fire dept should be busy this winter. A lot of people fail to do any research before they start to burn, especially if their house has a fireplace or wood stove already in place. They saw it done as a kid or in the scouts or on TV. Just throw some wood in and away it goes. Never heard the word "creosote" before the fire department shows up.
Click to expand...
One of the guys I work with is the chief of our local volunteer fire department. He said that they were bracing for a few chimney fires this year for the exact reasons you stated. He lives down the road from me and saw me hauling wood this fall, so he stopped by my desk at work to chat about it a little bit. He was really happy and relived when I told him I installed the liner as a precautionary measure.

This site has been an invaluable resource in teaching me how to burn the right way!
 
fattyfat1 said:
Not me. the neighbors.
first time woodburners
open fireplace
rediculously wet wood, cut less than 3 months ago, been burning it 24/7 for two months. 2 cords of it.
recipe for disaster........averted
masonry chimney, ceramic lined.
went outside for a smoke, (no pun intended) and their chimney looked like a jet engine, flames 10 to 15 feet out the top for two minutes. then the fireworks began. thank goodness for the torrential rain we've had today. sparks like a fourth of july fountain, 10' up for the next five minutes. got the fire out in the fireplace, all is well.
roaring, smokey crap fire plus five pizza boxes at once in the fireplace caused this.
gave them some advice about seasoned, dry wood. DO NOT BURN ANYTHING BUT SEASONED, DRY WOOD IN YOUR FIREPLACE. told them NOT TO BURN AGAIN until chimney is inspected by a certified sweep.
my good deed will be to trade them seasoned, dry wood for their wet, sloppy, freshly cut disaster in the making. I can go to bed now.
Click to expand...

The wood trade is above and beyond.... very nice of you to do that !!

If there's a chimney fire in my area, the Fire Dept tags it, no more use until it's checked by a pro.... as it should be.

The building owner's insurance policy will likely cover the cost of the necessary chimney work. But if I were the building owner/land lord, I'd be really hesitant allow a renter to use the fire place again. Well, maybe if he/she was made to and or agreed come here to this site, and go thru "wood burning 101" schooling. And, show a receipt for a pro chimney cleaning, time span as dictated by the building owner.
 
fattyfat1 said:
Not me. the neighbors.
first time woodburners
open fireplace
rediculously wet wood, cut less than 3 months ago, been burning it 24/7 for two months. 2 cords of it.
recipe for disaster........averted
masonry chimney, ceramic lined.
went outside for a smoke, (no pun intended) :lol:
my good deed will be to trade them seasoned, dry wood for their wet, sloppy, freshly cut disaster in the making. I can go to bed now.
Click to expand...

That is a very nice gesture indeed, good thing you were out there at the time. That kind of a scenario scares the heck out of me, this is my first year as well and I am very cautious, but as the othe member stated, I have learned so much just from reading through this forum, and for that I am very gratefull to you all.

Take care guys!


Fred
 
I had to drive out to to town last week and was amazed at how many places that had green wood stacked right on their porches ready to burn. In addition to that, I saw no less than 6 places with wood stacked near the road with signs for sales. They were all face cords marked from $40 to $60. Naturally, everything was green cut. Such a shame that these folks don't know squat about what it takes to burn wood...
 
Backwoods Savage said:
I had to drive out to to town last week and was amazed at how many places that had green wood stacked right on their porches ready to burn. In addition to that, I saw no less than 6 places with wood stacked near the road with signs for sales. They were all face cords marked from $40 to $60. Naturally, everything was green cut. Such a shame that these folks don't know squat about what it takes to burn wood...
Click to expand...
What you don't know could hurt you or in this case, kill you. Be safe.
Ed
 
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