Chimney fire

[Peasgood]

Buy a brush and do it yourself

Costs about the same as paying a sweep, free after that.

Can't say I would want to have my chimney on fire for the sake of not paying a sweep anyway.

[NI Tree]

if it a flexe liner you have to be very carefull as they are easy to damage

[hazzygawa]

When I was in the fire service. We used to use a stirup pump with a hose on so only used the bear minimal water to put the fire out.

You put the pumpkin a bucket of water and sent the 360 degree spray head up the chimney giving the pump a few strokes every so meters.

Check chimney breast with thermal image camera.

 

It was not too messy a job unless it all started going pear shaped.

[Dean Lofthouse]

Chimney fire knowledge must have come on a bit Hazzy, that would be the most effective way.

It was a while ago I saw them just unleash a hose straight down the chimney of a neighbour.

Dousing red hot brickwork with freezing cold water would have caused more damage to the chimney than the fire.

[New Forest DEAN]

so dad and went up damped it down with buckets of water,

 

Genuine question - What happens to a metal stove if you drop buckets of cold water down the chimney? Presumably it can't be good?

 

Or would the heat from the chimney fire reduce the impact?

 

Just wondering for future reference - although my flue is lined.

 

DEAN (different Dean)

[Big J]

Had an entertaining chimney fire with the Rayburn the other day. Happened a total of three times now and always when I leave the vent open for a touch too long. It can quite quickly set light if you're not careful - the hazard of having a fire that's on constantly.

 

The fire always goes the same way - flue sets alight, burning off the creosote, which condenses at the cowl, which then sets alight, burns away like a candle wick for a couple of minutes, dislodging aforementioned creosote which falls back to the Rayburn. I just shut all the air down and keep an eye on it until the flue temperature returns to normal.

 

Wouldn't like to have an unlined flue though, lord no!

[richardwale]

Noticed a few days ok my chimney pot was cracked. By all accounts if the crack spirals round the pot from the base, likelihood is you've had a chimney fire. So my mate who's a roofer popped up there and said there was lots of crispy tar etc round the top of the pot, so we had probably had a fire without noticing. Anyway, swept the chimney straight away and only about half a cornflake bowl of soot came out, and that was after a really good sweep so how does the fire bit work, clean chimney and still a fire??

[ballibeg]

Creosote from logs can form a hard glazed layer as it's deposited. It won't shift with a brush. Highly flammable yet a sweep will produce little soot which can give a false sense of security.

 

Dave

[Big J]

I suppose there is the question - if a chimney fire is well controlled in a lined flue, is it really an issue? A useful (lazy?) alternative to sweeping your chimney!

[Dean Lofthouse]

I suppose there is the question - if a chimney fire is well controlled in a lined flue, is it really an issue? A useful (lazy?) alternative to sweeping your chimney!

 

Nope...as long as you can control the burn. IMO it's the only way to properly remove the tar deposits