CHIMNEY FIRE PREVENTION: DON’T BURN DOWN

8/2/2022 (Permalink)

A chimney fire can, if hot enough, catch your rafters and frame on fire.

PREVENT CHIMNEY FIRES

• Clean your chimney regularly: at least once a year. Now that heating season gearing up, it’s a prime time to do it. Spring is a great time too, as it’s a good idea to get the creosote out as soon as possible. 
• If you have a stovepipe chimney and had a chimney fire in the past, replace it. Chimney fires ruin stovepipes. 
• If you’re putting in a new stovepipe or replacing an old one, do not install the stovepipe upside-down. In other words, always install the pipe with the crimped part pointed down. Some people turn the pipe with the crimped side up, thinking that smoke is less likely to come into the room that way. Problem: with the crimped side up, creosote will run down the pipe, out through the joint, create a fire hazard, and ruin your floor. If, on the other hand, your pipes match each other and the stove, you won’t have a problem with it smoking if it’s installed the correct way.
• Burn a really hot fire in the morning to burn the creosote out. Don’t do this until you’ve cleaned the chimney. Otherwise you’ll catch it on fire! Note that this will only reach the stuff near the stove; if you’ve got creosote further up, clean it.
• Use dry wood; preferably firewood that has been seasoned from 8-12 months or more. Less water means less smoke and less creosote. Don’t use treated wood (construction scraps, anything painted, etc.); it releases poisons into the air.
• Inspect your chimney or stovepipe once a year; this will catch anything you might miss and give you a professional cleaning if needed.

BE PREPARED

While “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” and these next suggestions won’t prevent a fire, they will help enormously in case something goes wrong:

• Keep a good fire extinguisher handy. 
• Make sure your smoke alarms are up to date. 
• Newspaper method: if a fire seems imminent, soak newspaper in water and chuck it in. That will stifle it.
• Make sure you have an escape route planned out and practiced. 
• If a fire happens and you have time, cut all air to it (shut the stove doors and dampers), call 911 and get outside!