SINC 250314-24 15
In Case of a Chimney Fire
1. Prepare to evacuate to ensure everyone’s safety. Have
a well understood plan of action for evacuation. Have a
place outside where everyone is to meet.
2. Close air inlets on stove.
3. Call local re department. Have a re extinguisher handy.
Contact your local re authority for further information on
how to handle a chimney re. It is most important that
you have a clearly understood plan on how to handle a
chimney re.
4. After the chimney re is out, the chimney must be cleaned
and checked for stress and cracking before starting an-
other re. Also check combustibles around chimney and
the roof.
- The services of a competent or certi ed installer, (certi ed
by the Wood Energy Technical Training program (WETT) - in
Canada, Hearth Education Foundation (HEARTH) - in U.S.A.,)
are strongly recommended.
Avoiding a Chimney Fire
There are two ways to avoid chimney res:
1. Do not let creosote build up to a point where a big chimney
re is possible.
2. Do not have res in the heater that may ignite chimney
res. These are hot res, such as when burning household
trash, cardboard, Christmas tree limbs, or even ordinary
fuel wood; (eg. with a full load on a hot bed of coals and
with the air inlet wide open).
Creosote
Formation and Need for Removal
When wood is burned slowly, it produces tar and other or-
ganic vapours, which combine with expelled moisture to form
creosote. The creosote vapours condense in the relatively
cool chimney ue of a slow burning re. As a result, creosote
residue accumulates on the ue lining. When ignited, this
creosote makes an extremely hot re. The chimney connec-
tor and chimney should be inspected at least once every two
months during the heating season to determine if a creosote
buildup has occurred. If creosote has accumulated, it should
be removed to reduce the risk of a chimney re.
1. Highest smoke densities occur when a large amount of
wood is added to a bed of hot coals and the air inlet is
closed. The heated wood generates smoke, but without
ample air, the smoke cannot burn. Smoke-free, clean
burning requires small fuel loads, two or three logs at a
time or 1/4 to 1/2 of a fuel load and leaving the air inlet
relatively wide open, especially during the rst 10 to 30
minutes after each loading, when most of the smoke
generating reactions are occurring. After 30 minutes or
so, the air inlet can be turned down substantially without
excessive smoke generation. Wood coals create very little
creosote-producing smoke.
2. The cooler the surface over which wood smoke is pass-
ing, the more creosote will be condensed. Wet or green
wood contributes signi cantly to creosote formation as the
excess moisture that is boiled off cools the re, making
it difficult for the tars and gasses to ignite, thus creating
dense smoke and poor combustion. This moisture-laden
smoke cools the chimney, compounding the problem by
offering the smoke the ideal place to condense.
In summary, a certain amount of creosote is inevitable and
must be lived with. Regular inspection and cleaning is the
solution. The use of dry, seasoned wood and ample combus-
tion air will help to minimize the buildup.
Chimney Fires
The result of excessive creosote buildup is a chimney re.
Chimney res are dangerous. Chimney inside temperatures
can exceed 2000 degrees F. This causes much higher than
normal temperatures in the chimney and on its exterior sur-
faces thus ignition of nearby or touching combustible material
is more likely during a chimney re. Proper clearances are
critical during such a re.
Chimney res are easy to detect; they usually involve one or
more of the following:
- Flames and sparks shooting out of the top of the chimney
- A roaring sound
- Vibration of the chimney
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