Who has chimney fires nowadays?
The most recent figures from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission indicate that there are over 29,100 chimney/solid fuel related fires annually in America. A chimney fire happens when the creosote deposited inside the chimney ignites. When this happens it is usually associated with a loud roaring sound, like an aircraft taking off or a train running through your living room. This is due to the tremendous amount of air rushing into your fireplace producing a blast furnace type of effect. A chimney fire can produce temperatures in excess of 2,000 degrees, hot enough to melt mortar and spew flaming balls of creosote out of your chimney like a volcano. Some people have limited chimney fires just burning up one side of the flue sounding like the howling wind outside. Many times this will crack the clay flue liner leaving the homeowner in a more vulnerable situation should a second chimney fire occur. A common occurrence is a resulting structure fire transmitted through the brick from t
