How to Avoid Chimney Fires

A chimney is a stack of bricks and mortar so common sense dictates that it shouldn't
ever catch fire. However there are more than 25,000 chimney fires in the USA each
year. These fires happen because a fire produces soot which clings to the brickwork
and builds up in layers. These sooty layers of carbon can ignite and cause a major
house fire. The results can of course be tragic.

The simplest way to avoid a house fire is to clean your chimney. A sweep with
a proper chimney brush at least once a year is absolutely necessary.

There are other ways to help minimise carbon build up too. The first is to ensure
you only burn hardwoods rather than softwoods. These have too much oily tar in them
which easily sticks to the bricks and is less easily removable by brushing.

Secondly avoid wet wood. This lowers the temperature of your fire. The hotter
the fire, the more likely that sooty particulates will be whooshed straight up the
chimney and out into the air without being able to settle on the chimney interior.
Because a hot fireplace and flue is good for avoiding chimney fires, contractors
these days will often inset a new insulated flue when installing a woodstove to
keep the flue hot and thereby discourage carbon build up.

Finally you should never burn plastics or any man made materials other than those
expressly designed for use in a fireplace. If you keep these tips in mind you can
be assured of a safe fireplace for many years to come.

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