Chimney fire takes a neighborhood home

[basswidow]

Still trying to learn more about it. House isn't too old. It was not a masonary chimney (framed in flue). I am not sure what kind of set up they had. We are out in the sticks so the Volunteer FD did the best they could. House was not more than 1/4 mile from the station - but there are no fire hydrants, just frozen lakes with standpipes for the pumpers. My hat's off to them for saving the home. Fast actions for sure.

House is pretty bad - roof is gone and the side where the chimney is rough - smoke and water damage. A family with 3 small kids. My wife took them over some of my kids clothes as they are the same ages. Hope their insurance takes good care of them. They are trying to find temp housing as the house will need about 12 months of work.

Curious to know more about what happend. What kind of set up he had and what quality of wood he was burning? If the flue had been cleaned and checked. Think I'll let my stove go cold this weekend and inspect my flue - yet I know it's good.

The wife said she heard it make a sound (chimney fire) but ignored it went on and took the kids to the dentist. No one was home - no one hurt. They came home to find the FD putting things out. Real shame.

Until I know what happened, it's made my family alittle nervous about burning wood. Yet I know my set up is good.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

That's terrible.

I would like to know what the major root causes are in fires involving woodstoves.

Improper ash disposal, improper install (clearances/wall pass throughs), carelessness with items near the stove, chimney fires...

My understanding is that chimney fires are a bit lower down than some other factors (they happen, but don't usually burn down the house), but I haven't seen good data.

 

[LLigetfa]

A chimney fire reduced my father's house to a smoking hole in the ground right quick. It was a large two storey home plus basement and in the Winter they would close up the top two floors and live in the basement. They were unaware that the entire roof was engulfed and only got out with the clothes on their back.

 

[burleymike]

I have always wondered why a chimney fire will burn one house to the ground and another it does nothing. My neighbor told me a couple years ago that somebody came to her door and said fire was coming out of her chimney. She shut the air down on her stove and finished making dinner. Later that night she opened the air back up and got the fire roaring hot again. I was shocked to hear this. I know if it had been me I would have shut the air down and run outside to make sure it goes out if not I would be calling the fire dept.

Of course this is the same lady that uses charcoal lighter fluid to start her stove. I always know when she is starting a fire when I smell it in the wind.

 

[firefighterjake]

I have always wondered why a chimney fire will burn one house to the ground and another it does nothing. My neighbor told me a couple years ago that somebody came to her door and said fire was coming out of her chimney. She shut the air down on her stove and finished making dinner. Later that night she opened the air back up and got the fire roaring hot again. I was shocked to hear this. I know if it had been me I would have shut the air down and run outside to make sure it goes out if not I would be calling the fire dept.

Of course this is the same lady that uses charcoal lighter fluid to start her stove. I always know when she is starting a fire when I smell it in the wind.

Depends on a few factors . . . amount of creosote build up, how long the fire was burning before being discovered and actions taken . . . and the big one . . . the condition of the chimney . . . in older homes an unlined, older chimney with improper clearances and cracked bricks = often a big, bad fire vs. newer, lined chimney with proper clearances in a newer home = we end up cleaning the chimney for the home owners and inadvertently make a small mess traipsing inside and outside of the home.

 

[basswidow]

I still don't know the details, but I am going to suspect improper set up (maybe homeowner installed and exceeded the flue rating?), green wood, and poor maintenance.

Looks like the chimney burned through toward the top near the second floor. This is where the chimney flue is cooler and the creasote will condense.

 

[colebrookman]

I have always wondered why a chimney fire will burn one house to the ground and another it does nothing. My neighbor told me a couple years ago that somebody came to her door and said fire was coming out of her chimney. She shut the air down on her stove and finished making dinner. Later that night she opened the air back up and got the fire roaring hot again. I was shocked to hear this. I know if it had been me I would have shut the air down and run outside to make sure it goes out if not I would be calling the fire dept.

Of course this is the same lady that uses charcoal lighter fluid to start her stove. I always know when she is starting a fire when I smell it in the wind.

Some people have a very laissez- faire attitude to fire, until the sh.t hits the fan. Clean chimneys usually don't cause fires, and a little common sense goes a long way toward safely burning. Some people think that they can save money by letting the fire dept. clean the chimney after the fire; some people still text while driving. Life on the edge. Be safe.
Ed

 

[Tom NJ]

My friends father has a wood-fired boiler and he literally lights the chimney every season to burn off the creosote. He doesn't think twice about it and has been doing it for 30 years or so. People often stop to tell him his chimney is burning. Seems a bit risky to me.

 

[colebrookman]

My friends father has a wood-fired boiler and he literally lights the chimney every season to burn off the creosote. He doesn't think twice about it and has been doing it for 30 years or so. People often stop to tell him his chimney is burning. Seems a bit risky to me.

That was a popular way to clean chimneys years ago. Take a walk in the forest and look at the cellar holes. Sometimes it works, sometimes sh.t happens. Be safe.
Ed

 

[joel95ex]

within the last month, there was a house fire nearby where the cause was determined to be a dirty chimney..... suprised it was not my brother in-law......(wife's sister's husband) that fool NEVER cleans the chimney---only burns a CSL log----AND they live in a mobile home---I told him he's beggin for trouble....her's the news article-----I don't live in longview though

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13749526

 

[cmonSTART]

We just had one locally which destroyed a home last week. I guess it started in the connector and spread to the house. Thankfully everyone got out OK.

 

[Renovation]

My friends father has a wood-fired boiler and he literally lights the chimney every season to burn off the creosote. He doesn't think twice about it and has been doing it for 30 years or so. People often stop to tell him his chimney is burning. Seems a bit risky to me.

An expert like BrotherBart would never recommend doing something like that.

 

[wkpoor]

I would like to see a chimney where someone is doing all the wrong things just to see the other end of the spectrum. I'm guessing in most cases something blatent was going on.
There was a home real near me that burned down and it wasn't really anything that was done wrong by the homeowner. He didn't realize his chimney had been laid up around a roof truss literally. After 20+ yrs of heating with wood either the mortor deteriorated enough or the heat finally lowered the ignition point of the truss to set it off. Either way it wasn't a total loss. Insurance moved a mobile home in on his property, tied it into the septic and power. A yr later his house was as good as new and he has a new chimney hopefully done proper. He still heats with wood.

 

[n3pro]

That's terrible.

I would like to know what the major root causes are in fires involving woodstoves.

Improper ash disposal, improper install (clearances/wall pass throughs), carelessness with items near the stove, chimney fires...

My understanding is that chimney fires are a bit lower down than some other factors (they happen, but don't usually burn down the house), but I haven't seen good data.

Around here it's many times its combustibles too close to the stove (or other heat sources). There have been a few ash disposal fires but more times the news goes to the "expert" who regurgitates the same warning about keeping everything a safe distance from heat sources. Baseboard heat is seems to be curtains, for woodstoves it seems to be the cardboard box of newspaper a few inches from the stove.