Neighbour had a chimney fire this morning

[Kerry]

Had an early morning wakeup call as the fire dept. rolled up at 5:40 this morning.Turned out our neighbours next door just woke up in time to see the pipe inside the house turning red.She gets up early for work.Thankfully the boys in RED took care of the situation and all is good.HATS OFF to them as it's biting cold out there this morning.Turns out the creosote was really built up at the top.They are very meticulous about getting the chimney cleaned each fall but I think when you have a long period of winter such as we have had this year it's probably a good idea to do it again half way through especially if you burn for heat daily.Anyway other than having a certified sweep come in,clean and inspect for a pass from the fire dept. everything and everybody is safe.

Sorry I don't have pics of all the vehicles(two trucks and seven volunteer vehicles)as I never even thought of a picture,just wanted to make sure our neighbours were OK.

 

Kerry

[OhioFisherman]

Glad to hear no serious problems! I have been burning wood every year since 1990 in my wood burner, only problem I had was when I tried to go two years without cleaning, yellow jackets had built a nest in the chimney. With that and the creosote build up it blocked it and smoke started coming into the house.

 

Care is needed, my neighbors had a chimney fire and it ruined the tile chimney liner, they had to get a stainless liner. I like to get at least two years wood at a time, plenty of room to store it though for me. Well seasoned burns cleaner.

[john vail]

Cleaning is good but sometimes not enough, seasoned wood and burning the unit hot in the morning and at night to keep the buildup from occuring is a good practice, also high sap wood, or softwood,aka pine is also asking for trouble. be safe and glad your neighbor is ok

[Kerry]

Fortunately theirs is only about three years old,so it's all lined stainless.I think they didn't get nearly as much hardwood mixed in as they probably should have.The chimney sweep came in this afternoon and they are OK to burn.I think they will be a little more wary from here on as will I seeing as it's along my driveway side.

Kerry