CowboyAndy said:
What is the relationship with chimney fires and SS liners in a masonary chimney?
How does a chimney fire set a whole house on fire?
how is a chimney fire put out?
The thought of a chimney fire scares the crap outta me...
Chimney fires can be very serious. My first interior attack on a house fire was resulting from a chimney fire. They had a free standing stove, dumping into an un-lined chimney. The fire in the chimney got so hot that it ignited the walls around it. To put the fire out the interior of the home surround the stove was pretty much gutted.
I remember entering the door, crawling on the floor and thinking, huh...fire in the wood stove, fire on the wall next to the stove...fire rolling up the stairs...it's hot in here!!
When we have a chimney fire, that is contained in the chimney...we have whats called a "chimey nozzle" We usually stretch a "booster line" from the Engine, connect it to the chimney nozzle..
The nozzle is on the end of a 15 foot rubber hose. It's a large piece of sold steel..I think it's steel anyway..and it has holes in numerous places. It looks almost like an oversized fishing wieght. You open the line a little, make a pass down, and up the chimney. It shoots water Horizontal as to get the sides of the chimney.
Gernerally before this is happening, we take a "water can" extinguisher inside the house and put the fire out in the stove. It's pretty much high pressure water. THen we close the doors up on the stove, close the air, and take care of the chimney part.
We then crawl all over the attic, and check any rooms that are near the chimney with a Thermal Imaging Camera. This allows you to see heat, and fire through the walls. It's pretty neat!
And our fire department is half paid, half Volunteer.
D/F