Never a good day to have a chimney fire

[drewmo]

Saw up close the damage a (suspected) chimney fire can have for the first time yesterday. Fortunately not my place. As my wife and I were driving towards home, we saw black smoke coming from near the direction we were heading. Familiar with the neighborhood, was curious, so I thought we'd take a closer look. On arrival, we saw this gorgeous chalet with flames already through the roof near the chimney. Firefighters had yet to arrive, not due to slow response, just because of the relatively isolated area in which we live. There were just a handful of people trying to get as much out of the house as they could. As luck would have it, there was a funeral in the village, meaning a great majority of the villagers were at the funeral. I helped as much as I could, mostly catching odd pieces of furniture as it appeared at the large window. By the time the firefighters arrived, the house was fully involved; and by the time they could knock it back, the fire had moved into a sheep shearing barn attached to the home. We overheard the homeowners saying the fire started in or near the chimney.

Here in France, your homeowner's insurance requires you to provide proof that you've had your chimney swept by a professional every year. I believe there are provisions for those who sweep their own chimney, I'm just not sure what they are. I hope this family of five, as the newspaper reported, has had their chimney swept in the last year if, in fact, the cause was a chimney fire.

(Thanks to a neighbor, J.M. Recht, for emailing me these photos.)

 

[GAMMA RAY]

Thank God for good people like you. Some people would just keep on going and not help. I believe in karma and some day when you need help (hopefully not a chimney fire) you will get help. That is a beautiful chalet Thanks for sharing.

 

[BrotherBart]

That is terrible. I was reading in the local paper a few minutes ago where a couple of Girl Scouts were going door to door selling GS cookies and smelled smoke and when nobody answered the door they ran to their mother who called the fire dept. A chimney fire was in progress with nobody home. They were able to knock out the fire while it was still just in the chimney.

 

[GAMMA RAY]

The only reason I did not want a wood stove is because of all the chimney fires you see on the news, etc. that start from wood stoves. We have had many on the news lately here in northeast pa. They even did a special about preventing chimney fires. But I feel more at ease now since we have been inspecting the flue at least once a month to check for build up. But it does still worry me because my biggest fear before owning the stove was fire. I would even get nervous when we would start up our wood burning fireplace. I am trying to conquer my fears lately and think I am doing pretty well. Still can't believe I load up that mother up and get her goin! I guess it is on to the next fear to conquer. My other fear is heights and I conquered it in St. Lucia and went ziplining in the jungle 150 feet up. Now that was a rush...almost as good as when the secondaries kick in.....

 

[firefighterjake]

When I first started out as a young firefighter the idea of going to a "worker" was exciting . . . as I have grown older and matured now this site saddens me as I realize that each and every time someone's life is being disrupted as everything they have worked for goes up in flames . . . and that's if they are "lucky" and no one gets injured.

 

[firefighterjake]

The only reason I did not want a wood stove is because of all the chimney fires you see on the news, etc. that start from wood stoves. We have had many on the news lately here in northeast pa. They even did a special about preventing chimney fires. But I feel more at ease now since we have been inspecting the flue at least once a month to check for build up. But it does still worry me because my biggest fear before owning the stove was fire. I would even get nervous when we would start up our wood burning fireplace. I am trying to conquer my fears lately and think I am doing pretty well. Still can't believe I load up that mother up and get her goin! I guess it is on to the next fear to conquer. My other fear is heights and I conquered it in St. Lucia and went ziplining in the jungle 150 feet up. Now that was a rush...almost as good as when the secondaries kick in.....

No need to fear . . . respect the woodstove . . . and maintain it diligently . . . and you should be fine. Most of the chimney fires I have gone to in my career as a firefighter are often in homes where folks just simply do not check or sweep their chimneys on a regular basis . . . heck, it seemed as though a few folks actually used us as their chimney sweeps since it seemed we would end up at the same home every year for yet another chimney fire.

 

[GAMMA RAY]

My logo is..........respect the fire..................

 

[burleymike]

Hopefully the insurance will pay out on the fire if nothing else nobody was hurt for dead.

In our local paper last week they had an article about a chimney fire. The family IMO was about as lucky as you could get. The house was from the early 1920s. The unlined brick chimney was for a cook stove in the kitchen originally. At some point the owner of the house put a wood stove in that chimney in the living room. Instead of properly sealing the chimney in the kitchen where the cook stove had been they just sheet rocked over the hole in the chimney.

When the chimney fire started the paper on the sheetrock started to burn and the newer kitchen cabinets that were over that sheet rock started to burn. Luckly the family was home and able to get out before the smoke got them. The fire stayed contained to the chimney except for the kitchen cabinet. The fire chief commented that there was only a 5" hole down the center of that chimney it was so full of creosote. This was an old brick chimney that was certainly a lot larger than 5" ID. The family was renting the house and they had to move after this since the wood stove was the only source of heat.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The only reason I did not want a wood stove is because of all the chimney fires you see on the news, etc. that start from wood stoves. We have had many on the news lately here in northeast pa. They even did a special about preventing chimney fires. But I feel more at ease now since we have been inspecting the flue at least once a month to check for build up. But it does still worry me because my biggest fear before owning the stove was fire. I would even get nervous when we would start up our wood burning fireplace. I am trying to conquer my fears lately and think I am doing pretty well. Still can't believe I load up that mother up and get her goin! I guess it is on to the next fear to conquer. My other fear is heights and I conquered it in St. Lucia and went ziplining in the jungle 150 feet up. Now that was a rush...almost as good as when the secondaries kick in.....

As Jake states, there is no reason to fear this. Respect it for sure. Also, it is not wood burning stoves that cause chimney fires! It is poor maintenance and;or burning wood that is not ready to burn.

btw, we've burned wood over 50 years and have never had a chimney fire.

 

[GAMMA RAY]

You are KING Dennis! I am glad you are back because I love your posts. I work in healthcare and I know what a hip replacement entails. Make sure you work real hard during your rehabilitation which I am sure you will. I will always remember.......Good fuel...........Good fire. If ya feed it crap it the fire will be crap. You can have the most expensive stove that money can buy but it will only perform well if you feed it good stuff. Have a great rest, eat well and let the wife tend to you during this time.