Chimney Fire

[winland]

We had a chimney fire tonight. Ended up with no major damage and everyone is OK.
But there were lots of firetrucks and firemen wandering around.

Not sure what to do next. Hopefully you guys can give me some good ideas/info

The fireplace (actually a heatilator) was installed in the 1980's before I bought the house.
The house is an 1870's old victorian house in the country.
The chimney is 40' at the top.
The chimney appears to be lined with clay tile
Chimney was cleaned by a "professional" at the end of last season at the charge of $200
I have been using the fireplace for the last few weeks on a daily basis without problem.
Normally burning seasoned Ash.

The local fire department brought in the city fire truck with a ladder to be able to look down the 40' chimney.
They found that a couple of the tiles were misaligned and figured that some
creosote got behind the tile and caught fire between the liner and the brick.

Last year I was thinking about replacing the heatilator with a wood burning stove insert, but the cost of installing
at 40' triple wall liner was a bit out of my price range. And a lot of the wood burning stoves only warranty
chimneys of 30' - 35'.

I guess I will be contacting some masonry contractors tomorrow to see about possible inspection and repairs of
my current chimney.

Anybody have any recommendations, suggestions?

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[Mac88]

It's very fortunate that you didn't lose your house. Chimney fires can be a scary thing. Here's hoping you can get the problem corrected to prevent a re-occurance.

 

[Beefie]

If you had issues now you will have issues again. Clay tiles only last so long before they start to break down. Either reline it with a S.S. liner or see if they can pour a new chimney down the old one. There is a name for it but I cant recall it right now. It involves using a long baloown to hold the chimneys form as it is being poured. Don't use it until it has been inspected by a certified Chimney sweep.


Beefie

 

[showrguy]

you would'nt/don't need 40" of triple wall to line yer chimney..
jus sayin !!

 

[winland]

The main floor of the house filled with some heavy smoke, just as we were about to start supper.
Lucky that the smoke detectors went off to alert us.

Went outside to take a look at the chimney and it looked like a Roman Candle at the top of the chimney.
Called 911. Lucky the roof did not catch on fire, which was my main concern at the time.

Removed the couple of logs from the fireplace and the hot coals into a metal bucket.
Used some wet newspapers to kill the rest of the hot embers.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

Glad everything worked out ok. One option could be a fireplace insert with a flexible stainless steel liner down your existing flue.

 

[PEKS]

Good to hear you and your family are safe..

 

[Ductape]

Did it burn itself out, or did the FD put it out?

I'm thinking an insulated flex liner down the current flue would be a reasonable fix.

 

[mga]

The fireplace (actually a heatilator) was installed in the 1980's before I bought the house.

exactly what type pf heatilator were you using?

was your fireplace open or did you use glass doors?

how dry is the wood you normally burn?

you don't need triple walled pipe....flex pipe is good enough.

 

[kd460]

I will second the stainless liner suggestion.

After someone inspects the chimney to see if it is structurally sound, (no doubt that the clay liner is shot), so a stainless flex liner would be the best way to go. If the chimney is found to not be structureally sound, then grab your wallet...

Also, I would not use that chimney sweep guy ever again...

1) Determine if chimney is solid

2) If so, do a little homework and install a modern insert with full chimney length stainless flex liner. I'm not gonna get into brands, but, go with what people suggest here and on other forums. Some are better values than others, some are more hype than performance, some are simple no frills, but get the job done just as good if not better than others. You need to decide.

3) Enjoy more efficient heat while using less wood, longer burns, and added safety.

4) If possible, buy the equipment to clean your own chimney, although a 40 foot chimney is pretty high, so you need to decide on that one, but cleaning a stainless liner is very easy, and if you burn correctly, very little creosote builds up in the newer more effiecent stove/liner systems.

Glad everyone is safe and things ended up the way they did. Could have been a heck of alot worse. Go buy a lotto ticket...KD

 

[haveawoody]

A chimney fire is no fun.
A quick way to stop a chimney fire is a couple cups of water in the fireplace/woodstove with it still going.
The steam going up the chimney chokes out the chimney fire fast.

Time for that instert me thinks though, one chimney fire would be more than enough warning for me.

 

[blades]

If the external structure of the chimney is sound and there is enough room internally then just slipping an insulated 6" id flex liner down will fit the bill. ( I do not know what the od of it would be) another option is just a flex liner with poured insulation around it. A lot depends on the internal size of the masonry unit. The above without removing the clay liner blocks. It gets more costly if the clay liner blocks have to be broken out to get enough room. There is not much science to removing them, basically the chimney guy uses a square block of steel ( size depend on chimney internal id) that has a slightly off set pin on it so it wobbles when spun. They stick it in there turn on the power and just start whacking away at it. More importantly is the firebox area below the damper (damper will need to be removed) and what type of construction it is. 1980"s would suggest a prefab. Heatalator,was bought by Lenox and just became a brand name under them. Lenox is also exiting the the solid fuel business. Its possible that you might be able to get some info from Lenox if you can find a model name/number. I do not remember when the heatalator/ lenox merger took place. I had a heatalator zero clearance fireplace in my home, installed 1960. I removed it several years ago as no parts were available for it.

 

[mga]

still want to know what you guys are calling a "heatilator"

 

[cnice_37]

still want to know what you guys are calling a "heatilator"

Let me google that for you (click on that, it's sort of a wise ass comment, but also a link!)

 

[Mac88]

Let me google that for you (click on that, it's sort of a wise ass comment, but also a link!)

:msp_thumbup:

 

[winland]

exactly what type of heatilator were you using?

was your fireplace open or did you use glass doors?

how dry is the wood you normally burn?

you don't need triple walled pipe....flex pipe is good enough.

I am not sure what "type" of heatilator it is. It was installed in the early 80's before I purchased the house.
I am burning year old Ash with some hackberry.
The glass doors are always open when there is a fire burning.

The heatilator is all metal inside. No brick of any type.
It has a blower on each side to exhaust warm air from the firebox to the room.

One of the problems with installing an insert is being able to clean the chimney.
My 1870 roof is VERY steap and the chimney extends at least 6' above the peak of the roof.
There is no easy way or practical way to access the top of the chimney without a 45' bucket truck.
With the fireplace, it can be cleaned from the inside up.
Installing an insert would make cleaning very difficult, Correct?

 

[kd460]

http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/85445.htm

 

[mga]

Let me google that for you (click on that, it's sort of a wise ass comment, but also a link!)

now, ya see man, i knew some one would go ahead and post a link to one of those things.


however, i had a feeling that wasn't what he was talking about...as explained in the post #16 above.

 

[mga]

I am not sure what "type" of heatilator it is. It was installed in the early 80's before I purchased the house.
I am burning year old Ash with some hackberry.
The glass doors are always open when there is a fire burning.

The heatilator is all metal inside. No brick of any type.
It has a blower on each side to exhaust warm air from the firebox to the room.

One of the problems with installing an insert is being able to clean the chimney.
My 1870 roof is VERY steap and the chimney extends at least 6' above the peak of the roof.
There is no easy way or practical way to access the top of the chimney without a 45' bucket truck.
With the fireplace, it can be cleaned from the inside up.
Installing an insert would make cleaning very difficult, Correct?

thanks.

i had a feeling that was the type of fireplace you were talking about. i have the exact same kind and it works excellent...i heat a 2000 sq, ft ranch very nicely with mine. my chimney is also clay tiles and the last time i cleaned it....about 3 years ago, it wasn't really worth my time because all i grabbed was black dust. once i ran the brush up and down a few times i could see the red on the tiles.

i also have glass doors on mine, but, i added seals around them to block off air and i close them when burning. i burn every thing from ash, black walnut, cherry, elm, pine, etc etc and i don't seem to have a problem with creosote buildup.

so, my next question is: is your chimney on an outside wall or in the center of your home?

 

[winland]

Chimney goes up the front of the house, on the inside.

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