Avoid a Chimney Fire in Your West Hartford Fireplace

11/23/2020 (Permalink)

The fire damage caused by a chimney fire at your West Hartford home can be devastating. Avoid it by setting a cleaner fire in your fireplace.

It’s so comforting to enjoy a crackling wood fire in your fireplace, especially with beloved family and friends gathered around. But that fire you are enjoying could eventually contribute to the biggest risk of a chimney fire: built-up creosote on the walls of the chimney.

What is a Chimney Fire?

Chimney fires are frequent and costly: each year more than 25,000 of them result in upwards of $125 million in damage to American homes. In a chimney fire, built-up creosote inside the chimney can itself catch fire. When that happens, you may hear cracking and booming from your fireplace, and in the worst cases, flames can shoot through the walls of your chimney to light your home on fire! The fire damage can be expensive—and deadly.

The way to prevent a chimney fire is to keep your chimney clean. Creosote is produced every time you burn a fire and condenses onto the walls of your chimney. If it is allowed to build up to more than a ¼-inch thickness, you need to have your chimney professionally cleaned by a chimney sweep. The sweep will remove the creosote and any debris, and will also inspect your chimney for cracks or other dangerous defects. It’s a best practice to have your chimney cleaned annually before the heating season begins.

Build a Safer Fire

Another important way to avoid a chimney fire is to set a clean-burning fire. Follow the steps below for a clean, hot fire that won’t deposit a lot of creosote inside your chimney:

• Open the damper so that air moves quickly, swiftly carrying smoke up and out of the chimney
• Don’t use too much firewood
• Use only seasoned (dried for six months or more) hardwood
• Use twigs and small branches for kindling
• Use torn, crumpled newspaper or pine cones for tinder

The best, hottest and cleanest fires are built according to the top-down method. It may seem counterintuitive, but start your fire by placing the largest logs at the bottom and work your way up to placing the smallest logs on top. Lay your kindling and tinder on top of that. When you light the fire, it will catch on top and burn its way down.

We’re Here for You

The team at SERVPRO of West Hartford has specialized training and experience in fire restoration and cleanup, as well as natural disaster and storm damage cleanup, water damage and mold remediation, and chemical and biohazard cleanup. Call SERVPRO of West Hartford (860.206.6141) any time.

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

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If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141