As the temperatures are falling, we are making more use of our wood stoves.
With this comes the risk of chimney fires, especially pronounced at this time of year. When we make smaller, smoldering fires, the resulting cooler smoke leaves more residue, called creosote inside the chimney. This accumulated creosote can catch fire at temperatures as low as 450 degrees fahrenheit.
Here is Haines firefighter Jen Walsh:
” It is absolutely one of the most common tone outs for the HVFD, over the last five years we’d averaged about ten calls a year for chimney fires”
According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America website, the high temperatures at which creosote burns (around 2000 degrees F) can melt mortar, crack tiles, cause liners to collapse, and damage the outer masonry material.
The effects of a chimney fire vary. It can be the inconvenience of having a couple firefighters in full gear empty a large fire extinguisher in your woodstove and creating a mess. Then having to get your chimney inspected. Or it could be structural damage to, or complete loss of the house.
“Clean chimneys don’t catch fire, it’s very important that you don’t have a build up of creosote inside your chimney.”
“ The fire department does have loaner chimney brushes, both 6 inch and 8 inch sizes, you can just swing by and borrow it.”
