Chimney fire or ???? HELP!!!

[Dubya1982]

We built our house last year and have a zero clearance fireplace with a metal flue that is about 30 feet tall with a chimney cap. Last year was our first to use our fireplace and we burned wood every night from about early November through early March. Then didn't use it again until end of October this year and have used it every night since. It hasn't never been cleaned. Mix of well seasoned wood and greenish, but nothing that has seasoned less than 5 or 6 months.

So tonight we started the fire about 5 and I was going to go to bed about 1 burn stoked it up and put a fresh log on (cherry wood) and I noticed a strange smell and the fire seemed hotter than normal. Didn't think much of it. I stepped out to let the dog in and noticed glowing embers and ash raining down from my roof, so I ran over and looked up and the chimney cap was glowing organge and you could see the ash spilling out, I kind of panicked.

I ran and grabbed my extinguisher and put out the fire and got all of the embers out of the fireplace but it took a good 30-45 minutes before the chimney cap wasn't glowing and before I stopped seeing glowing ash come out of the top.

So did I just have a chimney fire? What would have caused this? I was told by the builder we needed to get the chimney swept every third year, and it had only been one and a half seasons of burning wood. Should I completely discontinue use of the fireplace? I plan on calling next week to have a chimney sweep done.

Temps tonight were in the single digits and there was a slight north wind of about 5 mph or so.

This is the first home I've ever had with a fireplace and maybe I shouldn't have listened to the builder and had it swept this year?

Anyways, just now settling down after all the commotion and was hoping for some insight/advice. Maybe this is something more common than I'm aware of.

Edit to add that I tried looking up the flue when the cap was glowing but I couldn't see anything. But the flue is only about 12 inches wide or so and the fireplace was still hot so I didn't get a great look. But there was nothing obvious that was wrong from inside, only reason I knew was because I stepped outside and saw the ash.

 

[pen]

Yep, you had a chimney fire.

I would suggest having a sweep come out and inspect the unit to make certain it is sound before re-firing.

As you mentioned, you waited too long to get it swept considering your burning habits. Your builder was ignorant to make such a blanket claim about cleaning.

Time to improve the firewood seasoning process and get that chimney swept more often and or learn to do it on your own.

Good luck,

 

[Allagash350]

Sounds like it. Your builder (not defending him here) probably assumed you would be using it a couple times a month, not daily.
Also you’re burning green wood in there which would require more frequent cleanings.
Glad you’re ok though !

 

[kennyp2339]

Affirm @pen, you def had a fire, you def need to have the unit inspected before using it again to make sure none of the class a was compromised during the fire.
Firewood needs to be dry, period, there is no set amount of time, some people can have there wood supply dried out in one year, others it may take 3 years due to location, wood species, whether the wood is covered, located in the sun, or in a windy location, a rule of thumb, it takes 2 years to season (dry <20% wood moisture) for hard woods, again some take longer than others.
Always sweep your chimney at least once a year, I burn dry stuff and I do mine twice a year just to eliminate any hazard.
Learn to do your own sweeping, there are many different tools out there from a traditional sweep top down using a brush mounted on fiberglass rods to a soot eater that get mounted to rods that attach to a drill for ground level cleaning.
Also consult your zero clearance fireplace manual, some zero clearance units are just builders grade products and are not meant to have continuous fires in them, they are ambience only products (you will see warnings in the manual) also check the brand of class a pipe, again with some fireplaces they use a chimney pipe rated only for 1700deg f and not the higher quality stuff of 2100deg f, considering that some chimney fires can be around 2000deg f

 

[Tar12]

You must clean it once a year regardless with burning seasoned wood.burning green with seasoned does not cancel out creosote!..you should be seasoning at least a year for softwoods and 1.5 to 2 years at a minimum for hardwoods.As you just found out 4-5....months will not cut it! The creosote has been building this entire time! If your capable you can buy a soot-eater and clean it yourself...its not hard to do.If you chose to go that route many here can walk you through the process...take the guessing work out of the moisture content game and get yourself a moisture meter...it is your friend as a new burner....

 

[firefighterjake]

Chimney fire . . . definitely.

Your builder was flat out wrong . . . there really is no set time limit . . . it really depends on how much you are burning, what you are burning and how you are burning.

A person burning an occasional fire with properly seasoned wood at the right temps (Goldilocks Zone -- not too hot and not too cold) may go for years without a sweeping . . . a person burning more often with green wood and not burning at the right temps can clog up a chimney in weeks.

I personally recommend folks inspect their chimney monthly in their first year of burning . . . sweeping when there is a quarter inch or so of creosote. If folks find that the wood is good and their burning technique is spot on in terms of temps many folks will switch over to a bi-annual inspection -- once at the start of the burning season and once mid-way.

Me . . . I try to sweep monthly . . . 1) because it's wicked easy for me to do so and 2) because of my line of work if I ever had a chimney fire I would never hear the end of it from the guys at work -- they still remind me on occasion of the Christmas tree incident.

 

[mark cline]

they still remind me on occasion of the Christmas tree incident

This sounds interesting. Care to elaborate?

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Chimney fire . . . definitely.

Your builder was flat out wrong . . . there really is no set time limit . . . it really depends on how much you are burning, what you are burning and how you are burning.

A person burning an occasional fire with properly seasoned wood at the right temps (Goldilocks Zone -- not too hot and not too cold) may go for years without a sweeping . . . a person burning more often with green wood and not burning at the right temps can clog up a chimney in weeks.

I personally recommend folks inspect their chimney monthly in their first year of burning . . . sweeping when there is a quarter inch or so of creosote. If folks find that the wood is good and their burning technique is spot on in terms of temps many folks will switch over to a bi-annual inspection -- once at the start of the burning season and once mid-way.

Me . . . I try to sweep monthly . . . 1) because it's wicked easy for me to do so and 2) because of my line of work if I ever had a chimney fire I would never hear the end of it from the guys at work -- they still remind me on occasion of the Christmas tree incident.

Please enlighten us on the Christmas tree incident. I am rather intrigued

 

[brenndatomu]

Firewood needs to be dry, period, there is no set amount of time, some people can have there wood supply dried out in one year, others it may take 3 years due to location, wood species, whether the wood is covered, located in the sun, or in a windy location, a rule of thumb, it takes 2 years to season (dry <20% wood moisture) for hard woods, again some take longer than others.

Agreed. The only thing I would add is that the drying time doesn't start until the wood has been cut, split, and stacked. Laying around in large rounds or log form doesn't count...doesn't dry much, if any at all that way.
And I also agree with Jake, with the wood you are burning now...better have that chimney cleaned, or at least inspected monthly.

 

[toddnic]

That's a chimney fire for sure! You should clean your chimney probably twice per year with the type of wood that you are burning. FYI, I season my wood for 2 to 3 years before burning it. I wholeheartedly agree with the recommendation that you need to have a chimney sweep inspect your chimney for damage. So glad that you did not have a situation that would have damaged your home....

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

if you're burning almost every day you need to clean that chimney out at least once a year if not 3 or 3 during burning season. On the plus side your side your chimney is probably clean as a whistle now but you should check to see if any damage was done by the high temps.
Don't feel bad, i had same thing happen to me my 2nd year burning altho mine wasnt quite as intense and yours sounded. Live and learn

 

[firefighterjake]

Please enlighten us on the Christmas tree incident. I am rather intrigued

Long story short.

It was a few weeks before Christmas and a local TV anchor called me and wanted to do a story about the fire danger posed by Christmas trees. She wanted to do a live shot on the news a few weeks out. I agreed to do so, but cautioned her that a well watered Christmas tree will not burn like a dry Christmas tree and advised her to buy a tree and not water it.

A day or two before the scheduled live shot on the news she called me to confirm the date and time. At that point I asked if she had bought a Christmas tree a few weeks back and not watered it. She bought a tree . . . but on that date so it was still pretty fresh.

So a day or two later I'm out in front of the camera talking about how Christmas trees can pose a real fire danger when they are not watered and dry out . . . and attempting (and failing) to light the tree on fire with a hand-held propane torch. Every time I touched the torch's flame to a branch it would burst into flame . . . until I removed the torch and then the flames would die out. At one point I ignited some wrapped "gifts" under the tree to show the danger . . . only to have the fire go out.

I switched gears and talked about how this was a well watered tree and this was the key to having a safer tree during Christmas . . . unfortunately the crew back at the station was watching my "performance" and for a long time would give me a hard time about being one of the few firefighters who could not light up a Christmas tree.

 

[Rickb]

LOL thats a great story!

 

[firefighterjake]

LOL thats a great story!

For you . . . fortunately for me most of the guys who remember that TV interview have since retired.

 

[Rickb]

your dating yourself.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Long story short.

It was a few weeks before Christmas and a local TV anchor called me and wanted to do a story about the fire danger posed by Christmas trees. She wanted to do a live shot on the news a few weeks out. I agreed to do so, but cautioned her that a well watered Christmas tree will not burn like a dry Christmas tree and advised her to buy a tree and not water it.

A day or two before the scheduled live shot on the news she called me to confirm the date and time. At that point I asked if she had bought a Christmas tree a few weeks back and not watered it. She bought a tree . . . but on that date so it was still pretty fresh.

So a day or two later I'm out in front of the camera talking about how Christmas trees can pose a real fire danger when they are not watered and dry out . . . and attempting (and failing) to light the tree on fire with a hand-held propane torch. Every time I touched the torch's flame to a branch it would burst into flame . . . until I removed the torch and then the flames would die out. At one point I ignited some wrapped "gifts" under the tree to show the danger . . . only to have the fire go out.

I switched gears and talked about how this was a well watered tree and this was the key to having a safer tree during Christmas . . . unfortunately the crew back at the station was watching my "performance" and for a long time would give me a hard time about being one of the few firefighters who could not light up a Christmas tree.

Ouch. I could imagine the difficulty in trying to sweep that one under the rug.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

For you . . . fortunately for me most of the guys who remember that TV interview have since retired.

Hopefully the old guys don't share that story with the young bucks and keep it alive for the rest of eternity.

 

[firefighterjake]

your dating yourself.

I know . . . if it's any consolation I can technically retire when I'm only 50 . . . in a few years . . . but truthfully I really love my job as a Fire Prevention Officer and cannot see me retiring any time soon.

 

[Rickb]

They say if you love your job then its not really a job.(I understand where your coming from. Tho I have no prospects of being able to retire. lol)

 

[NoGoodAtScreenNames]

Long story short.

It was a few weeks before Christmas and a local TV anchor called me and wanted to do a story about the fire danger posed by Christmas trees. She wanted to do a live shot on the news a few weeks out. I agreed to do so, but cautioned her that a well watered Christmas tree will not burn like a dry Christmas tree and advised her to buy a tree and not water it.

A day or two before the scheduled live shot on the news she called me to confirm the date and time. At that point I asked if she had bought a Christmas tree a few weeks back and not watered it. She bought a tree . . . but on that date so it was still pretty fresh.

So a day or two later I'm out in front of the camera talking about how Christmas trees can pose a real fire danger when they are not watered and dry out . . . and attempting (and failing) to light the tree on fire with a hand-held propane torch. Every time I touched the torch's flame to a branch it would burst into flame . . . until I removed the torch and then the flames would die out. At one point I ignited some wrapped "gifts" under the tree to show the danger . . . only to have the fire go out.

I switched gears and talked about how this was a well watered tree and this was the key to having a safer tree during Christmas . . . unfortunately the crew back at the station was watching my "performance" and for a long time would give me a hard time about being one of the few firefighters who could not light up a Christmas tree.

So you’re saying we can find this on YouTube???

 

[brenndatomu]

So you’re saying we can find this on YouTube???

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

You should brag and say your so damn good at fire prevention even Xmas trees won't catch on fire around you. Hell i'd of wore it like a super power.

 

[Squisher]

Definetly a chimney fire as has been confirmed many times. The answer to how often a chimneynshould be cleaned is......as often as needed. When you first start burning a system you should be checking the chimney after the first couple of weeks, not couple of years. After the first couple of weeks what you find will steer you in operation and frequency of checking/cleaning. In BC the trigger amount of buildup for requiring a cleaning is 3mm, and that's right from the firecode.

 

[bholler]

Definetly a chimney fire as has been confirmed many times. The answer to how often a chimneynshould be cleaned is......as often as needed. When you first start burning a system you should be checking the chimney after the first couple of weeks, not couple of years. After the first couple of weeks what you find will steer you in operation and frequency of checking/cleaning. In BC the trigger amount of buildup for requiring a cleaning is 3mm, and that's right from the firecode.

It is 1/8 of an inch in the us now so just about the same.

 

[firefighterjake]

So you’re saying we can find this on YouTube???

Pretty sure it is in the dark days when TV stations were still not doing stuff on line.

For a long time though I did have a piece on You Tube that I did with the National Christmas Tree Association . . . I like to think of it as redemption for my previous transgression as I talked about how to keep a Christmas tree safely in the home during the season.