There are many homes across the country that are heated using either an open fireplace or a wood burning stove. That’s a lot of chimneys drawing smoke and other poisonous gases away from the fire and up out of the house. It’s also a lot of creosote that is forming on the inside of those chimneys getting closer and closer to the point where a chimney fire becomes a real possibility.
Creosote is a sticky buildup of all of the unburned gases that have cooled and adhered to the inside of the chimney. It is a flammable material and if it isn’t cleaned out at regular intervals can combust, starting what can be an extremely costly chimney fire.
There is a very simple solution to prevent chimney fires and that is to regularly hire the services of a chimney sweep. A chimney sweep can come and assess the chimney to gauge the level of creosote build up and, if necessary, remove it for you.
Depending on the type of fireplace you own the cleaning should be organized between once and twice a year. Open fireplaces generally don’t require cleaning as regularly as a wood burning stove. The wood burning stove burns at a slower rate which produces a higher level of creosote.
Taking the preventative measures a step further you can prevent, or at least slow down, the creation of creosote by burning well-seasoned wood. The more moisture in the wood the slower it will burn and the greater the level of unburned gases released up the chimney. The lower heat means that there is a greater chance that the gases will cool before they leave the chimney giving you your build up.
You should also avoid burning household trash and cardboard in the fire because this also results in a higher chance of causing a chimney fire. Both of these materials increase the amount of sparks that are sent up the chimney and any one of them can spark a chimney fire.
Should a chimney fire start make sure that the first step after ensuring everyone is out of the house is to call the fire department. IF you have time try to close all of the vents to the chimney and starve it as much as possible of oxygen.