How to stop runaway fire/chimney fire

[ABMax24]

What are everyone's thoughts on pulling the cap on the bottom of the cleanout tee to stop an overfire? Mine is extremely easy to access as the stove pipe goes up 4 feet from the stove 90's out the wall 3 feet to the cleanout tee then up 32 feet to the cap. If I seen an overfire I could be out the basement door and at the cap in under 20 seconds. My thinking is this would cool off the chimney allowing a huge inrush of cold air as well as significantly reduce the draft to the stove and cut the amount of air immensely. Obviously if there was a chimney fire with this it might be a bad idea to add more air to the situation.

 

[Woody Stover]

What are everyone's thoughts on pulling the cap on the bottom of the cleanout tee to stop an overfire...Obviously if there was a chimney fire with this it might be a bad idea to add more air to the situation.

Yeah, might be a bad idea in case of a chimney fire, but with an overfiring stove, removing the cleanout cap would cut the draft pulling air into the stove dramatically. Should work, I'd think..

 

[bholler]

What are everyone's thoughts on pulling the cap on the bottom of the cleanout tee to stop an overfire? Mine is extremely easy to access as the stove pipe goes up 4 feet from the stove 90's out the wall 3 feet to the cleanout tee then up 32 feet to the cap. If I seen an overfire I could be out the basement door and at the cap in under 20 seconds. My thinking is this would cool off the chimney allowing a huge inrush of cold air as well as significantly reduce the draft to the stove and cut the amount of air immensely. Obviously if there was a chimney fire with this it might be a bad idea to add more air to the situation.

I think it could work quite well as long as you are sure it isn't a chimney fire.

 

[MTASH]

Sure, but what is the "correct"way i.e. safe, effective and non-damaging to stove? I've been just feet away when someone threw a cup of water on a grease fire, and while I realize that's a different situation, I would be reluctant to throw water on anything hotter or more enclosed than a campfire.

TE

Our Chief recommends a wet bath towel.

 

[Sawset]

Our Chief recommends a wet bath towel.

I remember reading a blog once, where the guy was reminiscing about his grandmother. Every once in a while she would have a chimney fire, and would need to run get some wet towels to throw in. Seems to me she was also the one who would run out and shoo the bears off the front porch with a broom when they were getting into things. Maybe practice putting out fires was the key.

 

[peakbagger]

My mother grew up on a farm in Quebec, they had an unlined chimney and burned green wood. They expected chimney fires as a normal occurrence. They had a center chimney with tin roofs and steep slope so they were that worried about embers lighting the roof off.

 

[begreen]

My mother grew up on a farm in Quebec, they had an unlined chimney and burned green wood. They expected chimney fires as a normal occurrence. They had a center chimney with tin roofs and steep slope so they were that worried about embers lighting the roof off.

It's lighting the framing on fire in the house that surrounds the chimney one needs to worry about. Pyrolysis will steadily lower the ignition temp of that wood.

 

[Woody Stover]

It's lighting the framing on fire in the house that surrounds the chimney one needs to worry about. Pyrolysis will steadily lower the ignition temp of that wood.

How long would a chimney fire have to burn, to transmit any appreciable heat through four inches of brick to surrounding wood?

 

[bholler]

How long would a chimney fire have to burn, to transmit any appreciable heat through four inches of brick to surrounding wood?

A chimney fire can raise the outside temp of a chimney about 150 degrees in the first 2 mins

 

[brenndatomu]

My apologies if this is a stupid question, but what a runaway fire actually look like?

Just like a regular ole large-load-of-wood fire in your stove...with the air control wide open...except its not...and the stove temp just keeps climbing anyways...