While fewer people may be using wood-burning fireplaces these days, those who do should be aware of some of the hazards chimneys present.
Vernon Fire Rescue Cpt. Dan Walker stresses the importance of having a chimney cleaned and inspected regularly.
“If you don't get them cleaned, it is the buildup of creosote that actually will be the root cause of the fire,” says Walker. “Another root cause with the masonry construction or composite construction with heat, they can fail and not having them inspected can allow the fire to have access to the home.”
The career firefighter also advises getting the fire hot when the fire is initially started because a hot fire on startup will burn out the creosote.
“Get the fire extremely hot and then you can turn the damper down,” he says. “That kind of burns out the products of combustion that are built up in the chimney.”
Walker notes a common mistake is people close the damper too much and “that incomplete combustion is what is causing the creosote to build. By having the fire in a smouldering phase, you are actually causing incomplete construction and causing a buildup of creosote.”
Only dry, seasoned wood should be burned.
“The worst thing you can do is throw cardboard or garbage or anything other than dry, seasoned wood on the fire because it is just going to build up creosote,” he says.
— Darren Handschuh, Castanet
