Chimney fire instructions

[kennyp2339]

Put the hose away, if your going to have extension from a chimney fire it will probably be in your attic before your roof. Just make sure your calm, call 911 and wait outside
*fyi the hose is good intentions but this is winter, some shut the outside water supply off, others have hoses that were never drained and are solid ice.

 

[Babaganoosh]

Put the hose away, if your going to have extension from a chimney fire it will probably be in your attic before your roof. Just make sure your calm, call 911 and wait outside
*fyi the hose is good intentions but this is winter, some shut the outside water supply off, others have hoses that were never drained and are solid ice.

Once again since you missed it. Cathedral ceiling. That means no attic.

Put the hose away? Do you talk to people other than your children like that in real life? I hope not.

 

[kennyp2339]

Lol sorry, that's the jersey power company in me. Gotta go, got banged out for a brush fire

 

[firefighterjake]

BrotherBart ... what if my boots are black ... not yellow?

 

[Smoked]

I have dry chem fire extinguishers around my stove/house but was wondering about CO2. If you had to use CO2 in a stove, would that cold shock the stove?

 

[firefighterjake]

Co2 are generally more expensive for the average home owner ... and most I've seen are not rated for Class A fuels. Cold shock and the moisture (albeit limited) could be a possible concern, but my main issues are with my aforementioned concerns.

 

[revdocjim]

Well, here's to hoping that all of us keep our chimneys clean and burn dry wood, thereby reducing the chances of a real chimney fire. And in the unfortunate case that it happens, here's to hoping that we can glean the wisdom from this thread and do the right thing to bring it under control.

 

[electrathon]

It is a little troubling to me that the prevailing attitude is if you have a chimney fire to hope the fire dept rescues you or watch the house burn. A few people have commented about how messy a fire extinguisher is, I have personally do it, with zero mess. The powder was sucked up by the draft and it knocked the fire down. I have tossed wet newspaper in and had that work. Never have I watched the fire grow out of control.

 

[bholler]

It is a little troubling to me that the prevailing attitude is if you have a chimney fire to hope the fire dept rescues you or watch the house burn. A few people have commented about how messy a fire extinguisher is, I have personally do it, with zero mess. The powder was sucked up by the draft and it knocked the fire down. I have tossed wet newspaper in and had that work. Never have I watched the fire grow out of control.

Even after using a fire extinguisher to put it out you should still have the fd there to check for hot spots. For many people i would say putting it out with a fire extinguisher is a good idea. Some people should not go anywhere near it and honestly i would not do the wet paper thing either it can react badly as well. But i didn't see anyone saying sit there and watch your house burn down. Just get the fd on the way and don't do anything to make it worse.

 

[tcassavaugh]

As a firefighter and I'm only telling people this that my not have close FD access, what we do for chimney fires is (make sure the stove is shut down, go up on the roof, (safety is paramount, practice now) remove the chimney cap, we drop a chain rig down the pipe, (looks like a mop head of chains, connected to a long chain, move it up and down, try not to panic, slow is the best method (reduces damage) this will knock all the flaming crusty pieces down the flue, either it will end up in the clean out or back in the stove. We then clean out the fire box using a large metal tub *on top of a thick *canvas tarp. This is the best practice for a chimney fire as there is a reduced damage to the chimney.

i seem to remember as a kid....a long long time ago, our local volunteer fire department had a concoction they carried in a lunch bag made up of salt and baking soda. they would pour that down the chimney to suppress the fire. cant remember for sure but i think thats what it was. the idea of the chimfex sounds like the way to go.

 

[bholler]

As a firefighter and I'm only telling people this that my not have close FD access, what we do for chimney fires is (make sure the stove is shut down, go up on the roof, (safety is paramount, practice now) remove the chimney cap, we drop a chain rig down the pipe, (looks like a mop head of chains, connected to a long chain, move it up and down, try not to panic, slow is the best method (reduces damage) this will knock all the flaming crusty pieces down the flue, either it will end up in the clean out or back in the stove. We then clean out the fire box using a large metal tub *on top of a thick *canvas tarp. This is the best practice for a chimney fire as there is a reduced damage to the chimney. If you do this you still need your setup inspected to make sure you didn't compromise anything.

I absolutly would not recomend anyone without the proper protective equipment go anywhere near the top of a burning chimney. There are several good options for stopping a fire from the ground without putting some one is serious danger

 

[firefighterjake]

Said it before in the past and I'll say it again . . . there are many of us here who have run a woodstove for years and never had a chimney fire . . . it truly comes down to diligent inspection/cleaning, burning well seasoned wood and burning at the right temps . . . do all these three things and you will pretty much be 99% sure you will never have a chimney fire.

After 25 years in the fire service I can tell you that the folks who have the chimney fires -- especially our "favorite customers" who we get to visit with each year . . . at 2 a.m. . . . in middle of a snowstorm -- are not folks who are inspecting their chimneys on a monthly basis . . . and generally these are the folks who are burning wood they just cut and split four or five months previously and are damping down their woodstoves each and every night.

 

[Stinkpickle]

Said it before in the past and I'll say it again . . . there are many of us here who have run a woodstove for years and never had a chimney fire . . . it truly comes down to diligent inspection/cleaning, burning well seasoned wood and burning at the right temps . . . do all these three things and you will pretty much be 99% sure you will never have a chimney fire.

After 25 years in the fire service I can tell you that the folks who have the chimney fires -- especially our "favorite customers" who we get to visit with each year . . . at 2 a.m. . . . in middle of a snowstorm -- are not folks who are inspecting their chimneys on a monthly basis . . . and generally these are the folks who are burning wood they just cut and split four or five months previously and are damping down their woodstoves each and every night.

That's always good advice, but I think the discussion is about what do that 1% of the time.