Chimney Fires

[sixman]

First year burning wood and wanted to hear from those in the know about chimney fires. Have you had one, best way to put it out and what to do afterwards? I know that with proper burning and regular maintenance you should never have one but still curious.

 

[vvvv]

soaked newspaper or soaked roll of paper towels stored in a sealed plastic bag, just waiting to be inserted. plastic melts & steam results

 

[pen]

Dial 911 / pray / make sure dampers are closed as much as possible on stove.

You could also try one of these

If you have a GOOD chimney, you should be in good shape.

My next step would be walking around back w/ the garden hose to make sure nothing from the chimney catches the roof on fire.

pen

 

[madison]

Hate to admit it, 20 yrs ago, the scene --open fireplace with glass doors, I used an close by ABC fire extinguisher -- the powder sucked right thru a small opening in one of the doors that I had slightly opened. Fire department inspected 20 mins later.

3 yrs later, ditto, same as above, wife burning some cardboard in the fireplace, glass doors started rattling, ABC to the rescue again.

Gas insert the following yr, -- no more fires.

 

[begreen]

Never had a major one and I never intend to. Burn dry wood properly and you should be ok. This is a popular annual question. Here's a good past thread on the topic:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/5598/

 

[pen]

A pretty amusing story about one guys experience w/ a chimney fire.



pen

 

[Pagey]

Pen, that is freakin' hilarious. :lol:

 

[VTrider]

OMG Sixman don't have a heart attack!

Seriously, are we trying to give this guy an anxiety attack or something? This is coming from me, a member who still considers himself a burning newbie, primary source of heat is a woodstove, burning for 6 years - live in N. Vermont, so basically spark up the woodstove it up from early October ending in early April - The 'majority' of that time we are burning 24/7 - so take this advise any way you want....but, here's my .02c -

Don't loose sleep over weather you can find Chimnex solutions, anti-creosote quick fixes, powders, etc. My personal opinion is that although those products have their place, the bigger problem is that they should not and 'do not' take the place of proper burning method/practices and maintenance - which is mandatory if you burn wood, period. Honestly, in my opinion if you burn wood - you have a personal responsibility to learn all you can about the process - the fact that you posted here, I feel you have nothing to worry about considering all the knowledge this forum/feedback will supply.

The best advice I can give is to practice safe wood burning techniques, the wood you burn now should have been obtained and stacked a year ago - just patiently seasoning & drying. Always keep at least 1 year ahead of schedule, clean your chimney annually. I bought my house 6 years ago, primary source of heat was a wood stove - never even lit a wood stove before that. learned much of my knowledge here, first thing I did was learn how to clean my chimney - went out bought brush, poles, etc - been cleaning/doing own maintenance ever since. If you don't want to jump on that, just have hire a professional company to clean it every year. I have a wife & 2/kids and sleep soundly with the wood stove raging in the basement.

 

[BrotherBart]

For anybody that has a Big Moe raging in their basement, I got the local stove shop to get me a couple of cases of Chimfex chimney fire suppressors at their cost since this subject comes up every year. Any forum members with a Paypal account can PM me if they want one for half of what the shops charge for them. Have to send them Parcel Post ground since they are flammable and the Postal Service seems to be picky about burning up their airplanes in flight.

Probably twenty bucks with postage. There are some on eBay and Amazon also.

 

[sixman]

Thanks guys for the info, not planning on having a chimney fire but the fact is no one that has had one planned on having one because they thought it would be cool or a good idea. I just don't want to be running around like Chicken Litttle if it were to happen. I have a 12' chimney ( that is from ceiling to cap ) that is straight up, no bends, stainless steel double wall pipe. I am currently burning wood that is over five years old and probably have enough in that pile for this year. I cut enough this spring for another couple years and some last weekend that would be another years worth. I hated to cut it that far in advance but it was in a fence row that needed to be cleaned. The old wood would not even register on my moisture meter and that I cut in the spring is already down in the teens on my meter, one of the 8 inch rounds did measure 30 % in the middle but teens an inch and half away from the middle. So that being said I hope my wood supply is in good shape and that only leaves proper burning technique and maintenance. New to burning so technique is in the process of learning. I think I will pull the cap halfway through the burn season and take a look to see how things are going in there.

 

[rottiman]

Get your hands on a couple of the Railway Strike flares ( often seen @ accident scenes on the road). If you get a chimney that ignites, close your draft control (s) all the way down, ignite one of the flares and place it inside the stove. Shut the door tight and LET THE FLARE DO IT'S MAGIC. THE LACK OF OXYGEN PLUS THE SULFUR IN THE FLARE WILL SNUFF THINGS DOWN QUICKLY.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

For anybody that has a Big Moe raging in their basement, I got the local stove shop to get me a couple of cases of Chimfex chimney fire suppressors at their cost since this subject comes up every year. Any forum members with a Paypal account can PM me if they want one for half of what the shops charge for them. Have to send them Parcel Post ground since they are flammable and the Postal Service seems to be picky about burning up their airplanes in flight.

Probably twenty bucks with postage. There are some on eBay and Amazon also.

This is a very generous offer from one of our most respected members. Thanks BB, I hope some folks do take you up on this offer as it will give them the peace of mind they need to burn wood. Now get off your butt and go cut some more wood.

 

[vvvv]

For anybody that has a Big Moe raging in their basement, I got the local stove shop to get me a couple of cases of Chimfex chimney fire suppressors at their cost since this subject comes up every year. Any forum members with a Paypal account can PM me if they want one for half of what the shops charge for them. Have to send them Parcel Post ground since they are flammable and the Postal Service seems to be picky about burning up their airplanes in flight.

Probably twenty bucks with postage. There are some on eBay and Amazon also.

This is a very generous offer from one of our most respected members. Thanks BB, I hope some folks do take you up on this offer as it will give them the peace of mind they need to burn wood. Now get off your butt and go cut some more wood.

dont those things have an expiration date?

 

[BrotherBart]

For anybody that has a Big Moe raging in their basement, I got the local stove shop to get me a couple of cases of Chimfex chimney fire suppressors at their cost since this subject comes up every year. Any forum members with a Paypal account can PM me if they want one for half of what the shops charge for them. Have to send them Parcel Post ground since they are flammable and the Postal Service seems to be picky about burning up their airplanes in flight.

Probably twenty bucks with postage. There are some on eBay and Amazon also.

This is a very generous offer from one of our most respected members. Thanks BB, I hope some folks do take you up on this offer as it will give them the peace of mind they need to burn wood. Now get off your butt and go cut some more wood.

dont those things have an expiration date?

A "best if used by" date. October 2013. Wet newspaper in a bag mildews a lot faster than that.

 

[vvvv]

For anybody that has a Big Moe raging in their basement, I got the local stove shop to get me a couple of cases of Chimfex chimney fire suppressors at their cost since this subject comes up every year. Any forum members with a Paypal account can PM me if they want one for half of what the shops charge for them. Have to send them Parcel Post ground since they are flammable and the Postal Service seems to be picky about burning up their airplanes in flight.

Probably twenty bucks with postage. There are some on eBay and Amazon also.

This is a very generous offer from one of our most respected members. Thanks BB, I hope some folks do take you up on this offer as it will give them the peace of mind they need to burn wood. Now get off your butt and go cut some more wood.

dont those things have an expiration date?

A "best if used by" date. Feb. 2013. Wet newspaper in a bag mildews a lot faster than that.

yesterday's news! roll of paper towels can be recycled come Halloween or used for emergency if the bidet malfunctions.

 

[firefighterjake]

Topic comes up every year . . . as mentioned . . . burn at the proper temps, burn seasoned wood and check and clean your chimney and you will not get a visit from me or any of my brother and sister firefighters at 1 a.m. If you can do those three things you will not need to worry about anything else . . .

Final thought . . . I've gone to lots of chimney fires and there are two things I've realized . . . 1) usually this is in the home with the 1978 stove . . . and the guy is burning wood that he cut up two months ago and 2) when it comes to cleaning the chimney . . . usually we're the ones who last cleaned his chimney when he a chimney fire a year or so ago.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Methinks Jake is right on!

btw, it has been said that everyone will experience a chimney fire. That is pure bull. It may have been true 50-75 years ago but not today. Also, although I have seen a couple of chimney fires I have never experienced one in any of our homes.

 

[agartner]

Six - you are totally on the right track. Chimney fires are a result of excessive creosote accumulation and eventual combustion of that creosote in the stovepipe and/or chimney flue. Creosote is a result of burning green wood and/or bad burning practices, and not cleaning the chimney regularly. Eliminate the causes of creosote buildup and a chimney fire is pretty much impossible.

 

[pen]

Six - you are totally on the right track. Chimney fires are a result of excessive creosote accumulation and eventual combustion of that creosote in the stovepipe and/or chimney flue. Creosote is a result of burning green wood and/or bad burning practices, and not cleaning the chimney regularly. Eliminate the causes of creosote buildup and a chimney fire is pretty much impossible.

Even w/ good habits there will always be some in the chimney. All it takes is one morning of leaving the door cracked or air open too long and it could happen. Point is, by maintaining good practices the fire will be so small that you probably wouldn't even notice it.

pen

 

[colebrookman]

http://www.dos.state.ny.us/kidsroom/firesafe/edith.html
All excellent replies but remember houses are replaceable, people aren't. Smoke and Co alarms save lives, Edith saves lives. Be careful.
ED

 

[madrone]

Between that stove, and your apparent conscientiousness about burning, I'd say the odds are very good you'll never have to worry about a chimney fire.

 

[mellow]

Before I found hearth.com I was burning in an old non-epa craft insert, took 2 major chimney fires for me to break down and line my exterior chimney, then upgraded to EPA fireplace inserts. Your ahead of the game finding this site.

Steps I took for both fires was to shut down the stove as tight as I could and call 911, both times I could see fire shooting out the chimney and it sounded like a freight train, not a good sound to hear, I could go the rest of my life without having to hear that sound again.