Posted: 12/3/2002 8:05:44 AM EDT
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I don't have a fireplace, my dad does. My dad has a tendency to burn unseasoned wood and other unsavory stuff in his fireplace, so the thought of a fire in the chimney is a real posibility. I run a sweep down the pipe every year, but I don;t know how effective that is. I was speaking with a genleman yesterday who had had a chimney fire. He said the f.d. put a flare(?) in in his wood burning stove that extinguished the fire. Has anyone heard of these "flares"? Are they something you should have at home if you have a fireplace? How do they work? I'm guessing they must be some sort of Co2 device, but I really have no clue. Any other ideas for preventing or extinguishing this type of fire? |
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I've seen them for sale at fireplace/woodburning stove stores----believe they operate by removing the oxygen from the fireplace flue, thus, extinguishing the fire. Had a chimney fire once----it was kind of scary---sounded like the roar of a fast freight train----after about 5 minutes, it burned itself out. Typically, I believe that the danger from a chimney fire (besides potentially cracking the flue pipe(s)) is primarily associated with very hot, burning debris (creosote) from the chimney blowing up on to the roof and setting the roof on fire. It makes sense to clean your chimney periodically---the problem with asking a sweep about it is that they always want to over-do it---sweep it every month or two---which probably is nothing but overkill. |
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my father was a fireman for as long as i can remember. he once told me that only about 7-10% of chimney fires are even called in (best estimates from those who think they know), for the most part they will just burn themselves out. if yore chimney is up to code with a liner all the way up, it should be good to go with just the yearly cleaning.. but if it is unlined, be carefull as heat transfer will eventually happen to the extant of starting a fire outside of the chimney. if the fire burns long enough.. |
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As stated earlier, I'd worry about the roof and burning embers if it is a masonry flue. If it is a metal stovepipe I'd get a little nervous about the potential of burning through. The couple cimney fires I've been a witness to sounded like a rocket or how I'd imagine a blast furnace to sound. I would expect your EGT (exhaust gas temp.) to be very, very high. Kent |
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If you have a triple wall 1200 degree metal chimney, just sit back and let'er roar. a metal screen will catch most of the hot creosote as it ejects. Setting the roof on fire is a possibility, unless you have fireproof shingles or a metal roof. Creosote burns at about 2500degrees or more, so it is a hot fire and can crack a masonry liner. the principal danger to a masonry chimney is cracking of the liner, which can result in hot creosote seeping into and thru the brick and starting a fire in the house. Annual sweeping is adequate, I used to heat with wood and I burned anything I could find. The 'flare' is a product called 'Chim-fex' and is essentially a dry chem fire extinguisher. An old hoome mixture is to mix one cup of zinc oxide and one cup of salt and pour it onto a really hot fire. This is said to loosen creosote and prevent fires. Ordinarily all a chimney fire does is to burn the chimney clean and scare the hell out of the occupants. Not to minimize the risk, DO take the appropriate action to clean the chimney first. Ops |
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[b]paspecops[/b], I just installed the 1200* triple wall stainless you mentioned, but I am curious whether a fire of this type can/will damage the inner wall during a fire of this temp. I would think warping, cracking, or something "bad" would result from a temp of double what it's rated for. |
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This has worried me every winter since my folks moved out here. They never had a fireplace until they moved into their current home. I was always told that a chimney fire was very hard to fight and would burn the house to the ground in less than 10 minutes[:0]. Nothing you could do about it. I'll give the zinc oxide and salt a try. Thanks for the info. That's that much less to stress about this month. |
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I recently got a top of the line Lopi woodburning fireplace stove insert. I also got a complete metal reline of the chimney. This is my second year using it and haven't gotten the chimney swept yet - I plan on doing that after this winter. I make sure I use good, seasoned oak (no pine - too much tar). I also have one of the "flares" you mentioned just in case. What's nice is that with the insert I can totally cut off the fire by closing the damper - hopefully this keeps me pretty safe. But yeah, you can get those "flares" pretty cheap at fireplace stores - about $10 or so. |