Fireplace Safety – Only You Can Prevent Chimney Fires

On a cold wintery day nothing warms the soul and the toes like a wood burning fire. Most of us take our fireplace chimney for granted.  Like an old favorite, we know it's there, it never breaks, it never lets us down, and it’s always reliable....  But is it?

Before building a fire you should review the items on Weaver’s Safety Checklist:

• Check on the condition of exterior chimney
• Chimney cap: Is there one?
• Leaks/stains: What might they mean
• Use your carbon monoxide tester!
• Check all flues and dampers and clean as needed
• Clean the doors, ash-collecting trays
• Check the condition of your indoor woodstove appliances and pipes
• And finally, check to see if the kids were hiding toys.... at least in my house.

Most chimney fires happen for one simple reason: improper usage and care of wood-burning appliances like fireplaces and woodstoves. If you suspect you have a chimney fire make sure you have a emergency plan. Your home and your family will thank you!

• Get everyone out of the house.
• Call the fire department. The fire could be out before firefighters arrive, but it's a good idea to call them anyway.
• Close the damper or the air inlet controls to the fireplace or stove. This will limit air supply and reduce the fire's intensity.
• Grab your fire extinguisher (you do have one, right?). Open the door to the fireplace or stove just enough so you can insert the extinguisher's nozzle. Shoot the contents of the entire canister inside and shut the door. If you don't have a fire extinguisher, baking soda or salt pellets work, too. But you'll have to use a lot of either substance. What you don't want to use is water. It could make things worse by causing more steam and gas to enter the chimney, which could crack or warp it.
• Get yourself out of the house.
• If you have not turned off you hose connections for winter, wet down the roof and the area around your house. This will lessen the chances of sparks igniting other combustibles like shrubs and trees. Keep the water away from the chimney—wetting down a hot chimney could cause it to crack or even collapse.

Prevention is the key!

It is recommended that you have your fireplace or woodstove inspected by a professional fire-place or woodstove installer or a chimney sweep once a year. Chimney fires can cause a lot of damage to the chimney structure, including cracks and holes in the chimney wall, the flue, the flue pipe, and the flue liner. If the damage isn't repaired, any subsequent fires could move beyond the flue and engulf adjoining areas.