Chimney Fire Safety and Prevention

As colder weather sets in, Water Mold Fire Restoration wants to remind you about chimney fire safety and prevention. The crackling warmth of the fireplace can be really welcoming and a wonderful place to spend time with your loved ones on a cold evening. It is also not uncommon for these relaxing fireplaces to be the cause of chimney fires. According to the CSIA (Chimney Safety Institute of America), between the years 2011-2013, there were around 22,300 chimney fires in the U. S. Chimney fires can be devastating and can completely destroy homes, cause extensive damage, and do harm to your family and your belongings. Here are some tips from ourfire experts about how you can prevent chimney fires.

Types of Chimney Fires

The signs of a chimney fire are usually plenty of smoke and flames, accompanied by loud popping and cracking sounds with a hot, intense odor. Mostly, chimney fires burn explosively, but sometimes they burn very slowly too. There are essentially 2 types of chimney fires – slow burning and free burning.

Slow Burning Chimney Fires

Slow burning fires are not very loud and sometimes they cannot even be detected. These fires burn very slowly but at high temperatures. Always check that there are no abnormal amounts of smoke or flames coming from the chimney top.

Free Burning Chimney Fires

These are quite loud and may even sound like an airplane or a train and you can see large amounts of smoke and flames coming from the top of the chimney.

What Is Creosote?

Usually, the smoke, gases, water vapor, hydrocarbons, minerals, tar, and unburned particles of wood exit your home via the chimney. However, sometimes when condensation occurs, a thick and sticky residue is formed, which is creosote.Creosote will adhere to the inner walls of your chimney. Creosote is extremely combustible and the buildup of creosote can easily cause a chimney fire.

How to Prevent a Chimney Fire

By following a few simple steps, you can help to prevent chimney fires.

Cleaning Your Chimney on a Regular Basis - by removing the buildup of creosote, you can help ensure that your chimney does not catch fire. You should do this at least once a year by making use of an extension pipe, a chimney brush and chemical creosote removers. Or you could call a professionalchimney sweep who will do a deep cleaning of your chimney.

Don't Burn Trash, Cardboard, or Christmas Trees in Your Fireplace - placing these items in your fireplace can cause excessive smoke and creosote buildup, which can lead to a chimney fire.

Use Dry, Seasoned Wood - unseasoned wood needs more energy to burn. This will create a cooler smoke that will flow up the chimney and deposit more creosote on the walls of the chimney. Moist (meaning green, unseasoned firewood) wood does not burn very hot and will also cause plenty of smoke and creosote buildup. So, make sure that you only use wood that is dry and seasoned.

What to Do in Case of a Chimney Fire

• Alert all family members that there is a fire and tell them to evacuate the house immediately.
• Call 911
• If possible,use a chimney fire extinguisherthat is specially designed to fight chimney fires.
• When evacuating, close all doors and windows to cut off the oxygen supply to the fire. Doing this will help “starve” the fire and keep it from getting out of control as quickly.
• Check for any sparks that may come out of the top of the chimney. These sparks may land on the roof and ignite it or any other flammable items or structures nearby.
• Use a garden hose to wet the around the chimney. This can reduce the risk of your roof catching fire.

By following these tips, you can prevent a chimney fire from occurring. If there is a fire-related emergency in your home, our expert fire restoration team from Water Mold Fire Restoration can assist you in restoring your home quickly. You can call us at 800-905-0277 or email us at help@watermoldfire.net.