chimney fire

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fbelec

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Nov 23, 2005
3,690
Massachusetts
this is a real chimney fire. yes it is dutch and not america but it will give you a idea how this works and yes these people were lucky it didn't take their house. it's about 35 minutes long. to show you what a blistering chimney fire can do to a house and you not even know it is happening wait til they hit it with a fire extinguisher and see where it comes out. eye awakening. mine was worse looking but turned out ok

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and look at how they have their stove hooked into the chimney. this should be looked at by all those people who have a old insert.
 
It seems these are two different chimney fires.
 
Most most firefighters arrived to the station on bikes. Very Dutch. They carefully removed the roof tiles and replaced them. That chimney is gone. The heat in the first flue was so hot the second started smoking or there are enough cracks between the two flues for smoke to get into the second.

This is why you need a liner. And good burning and cleaning practices.

Thanks for the video. I would like to see what a stainless flex liner looks like after a chimney fire.
 
scary sh*t right there... certainly makes you aware of the dangers of "let's fire it up to see if it works" attitude of new home buyers with existing stoves and or fireplaces.

i know of two younger couples that have bought homes with a stove/fireplace that have no experience with in-house burning...
one, instead of having it thoroughly checked out, wanted to "fire it up"....
the other hired a certified CSIA crew to inspect and verify it passes...
 
Most most firefighters arrived to the station on bikes. Very Dutch. They carefully removed the roof tiles and replaced them. That chimney is gone. The heat in the first flue was so hot the second started smoking or there are enough cracks between the two flues for smoke to get into the second.

This is why you need a liner. And good burning and cleaning practices.

Thanks for the video. I would like to see what a stainless flex liner looks like after a chimney fire.
Something like this.

[Hearth.com] chimney fire
 
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Questions????

Did anyone notice the fire truck? It was electric. EbS-P from the picture you have posted with your name, you have a similar set-up. What do you think caused all of this buildup in the chimney? Does that 90 degree turn up the chimney make a difference? Obviously, some of the owner's wood must have been moist. Why is a liner better? It is better in case something goes wrong (like this) - a liner won't micro crack like this chimney did?

Do liners have different qualities than say stone/brick chimneys? That is, liners heat up more rapidly thus causing less buildup in the chimney? And I'm guessing they are easier to clean?

A large cat wood stove vs a small cat wood stove putting out the same heat. The large wood stove is dialed down, low air. The small wood stove is running more open. Which is better? Which one causes less build up in flue system? Maybe why it is best not to oversize wood stove on initial install?
 
Questions????

Did anyone notice the fire truck? It was electric. EbS-P from the picture you have posted with your name, you have a similar set-up. What do you think caused all of this buildup in the chimney? Does that 90 degree turn up the chimney make a difference? Obviously, some of the owner's wood must have been moist. Why is a liner better? It is better in case something goes wrong (like this) - a liner won't micro crack like this chimney did?

Do liners have different qualities than say stone/brick chimneys? That is, liners heat up more rapidly thus causing less buildup in the chimney? And I'm guessing they are easier to clean?

A large cat wood stove vs a small cat wood stove putting out the same heat. The large wood stove is dialed down, low air. The small wood stove is running more open. Which is better? Which one causes less build up in flue system? Maybe why it is best not to oversize wood stove on initial install?
I have a full insulated liner. I don’t think that install would have been easy to clean if at all. The stove vented slammer style into a fireplace and probably smoke shelf maybe further up there was a clay liner?? It was a dangerous install.

Years of improper cleaning. Owner may have swept the top and the horizontal connector but missed 100% of the dangerous creosote. That was a large pile in the puddle.

I thought they left awful quick without checking for extension into attic/floor framing.
 
There was no floor framing. These homes are brick (no wood whatsoever in walls and floors) with the exception of the roof (under the roofing tiles).
 
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Interesting video. Thanks for posting. The bicycles are so Dutch. 😀
 
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Questions????

What do you think caused all of this buildup in the chimney? Does that 90 degree turn up the chimney make a difference? Obviously, some of the owner's wood must have been moist. Why is a liner better? It is better in case something goes wrong (like this) - a liner won't micro crack like this chimney did?

Do liners have different qualities than say stone/brick chimneys? That is, liners heat up more rapidly thus causing less buildup in the chimney? And I'm guessing they are easier to clean?
It looked like what caused this was the chimney tapered as it went up. The owner probably swept from the top and couldn't get the sides tapering up, not to mention the wider base in the middle. As I understand it, a liner would've made the entire chimney one consistent width making it easier to clean and help keep it insulated to form less creosote.
 
yup his problem was the slammer install then years of use. it was a time bomb and he or she was lucky
 
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