How to Put Out a Chimney Fire? – You Must Know
Ever experienced a chimney fire? If you don’t have such experience, you probably do not know the causes and serious outcomes of it. But you don’t need to worry. After reading this article, you will better understand the causes of chimney fires and how to put out a chimney fire. And let’s know many other factors about a chimney fire.
A chimney fire is not as simple as a fire of your stove. According to some people who have experienced a chimney fire, when it burns, its sound is loud, like thunder in the sky. So you can imagine the seriousness of it. Thus, you must be aware of how to prevent it.
What Causes a Chimney Fire?
Among the many possible causes of chimney fires, the main one can often be identified as the burning of creosote inside the chimney, causing damage to the chimney liner and the interior masonry of the chimney. On the other hand, due to this reason, the bond between brick and mortar becomes loose. It then cracks, which in turn leads to a fire. In particular, if a fire breaks out due to loose chimney liner mortar and bricks, it can damage the walls, insulation, your kitchen appliances and many more.
The other thing is that if your chimney is built neglecting the standards, you may have to deal with a fire later. A chimney that leaks in any way can also be unsafe.
How to Put Out a Chimney Fire?
Even if you suddenly face this problem, remember that you can put out this fire yourself. But remember that although you can control this fire, it can get out of your control at any moment. So make sure to alert the fire brigade as soon as possible.
The first thing you should immediately do after detecting the fire is to get everyone out of the house. Because as we talked about earlier, if the mortar bonds are loose, they may enter the house as the next fire stage. So come out of the house as soon as possible.
Likewise, paying attention to your fireplace is imperative. All openings in the furnace must be closed. This delays the fire from getting the nutrients it needs.
Also, if it is available, try to use an ABC fire extinguisher within the fire spreading area.
Get out if the fire can be controlled with an ABC fire extinguisher. After that, take a bucket of water or a hose pipe and wet the inside of the chimney thoroughly.
Now, as soon as possible, remove the burnt pieces of wood and definitely clean them. Run water over the pile of debris to make sure it’s extinguished.
Then all you have to do is open the damper and insert a prepared chimney fire extinguisher into the chimney.
When wetting the chimney with a hose, make sure to check if the flames are well out. Also, be sure to alert the fire department as soon as possible if the fire is out of your control.
Can You Let a Chimney Fire Burn Out?
Usually, this is a straightforward thing to do. But this is not appropriate. Technically, it may burn out due to loss of fuel, but it is not suitable for safety. This is not a problem as long as there are no combustion nutrients, wood, creosote, and oxygen. Also, this is very dangerous if your chimney is old and has not been repaired in a while. Oxygen can enter the chimney if the bonds in your mortar are loose. It provides fuel to the flame that ends up burning in the chimney. Therefore, it is very dangerous to let it burn out freely.
Can a Lined Chimney Catch Fire?
Okay, let’s first see what these lined chimneys are. This is a flexible tube that affects internal alignment and it covers the entire length of your chimney. This chimney does not suddenly release smoke into it, and it moves up the pipe.
Now, let’s focus on our original question. This type of chimney can prevent damage to the mortar due to the heat generated by the fire. Therefore, the damage caused by mortar loosening is significantly reduced. It also prevents the highly acidic fumes that may escape from the fire and carries them upwards, thus considerably reducing the risk of fire.
How Long Does a Chimney Fire Last?
This is not exactly a matter of saying. It varies on many external factors. But one thing can be said for sure. Once a fire starts in your chimney, it will ignite everything combustible and continue to burn. This never ends if there are lots of fuels to burn and you cannot control this fire. That’s the danger here.
Sometimes it can burn from about an hour to 8 hours. The other thing is that if it leaks into the house due to the sudden loosening of the mortar bonds, this time will be longer.
How to Put Out a Chimney Fire with Salt?
You now know that oxygen is a fuel for combustion. What a fire extinguisher does is destroy the root of the fire by eradicating the sources of fuel. Suppose you don’t have a fire extinguisher. But you also know that you must put out this fire very soon. What do you do at that time? Don’t panic! You can find natural fire retardant at your disposal.
For this, you can use salt, baking soda, and sand. All this happens by absorbing oxygen, a fuel for combustion, and putting out the fire. Remember, if you use salt, get out of the house immediately because salt explodes in the fire, and this can only be used in the initial wake of the fire. Or just in a small fire. It is imperative to alert the fire brigade if you feel the fire is growing suddenly.
Conclusion
We started this article with the question, “how to put out a chimney fire?” Now you know how damaging a chimney fire can be. It can be very devastating in an instant. So be sure to notify the fire brigade as soon as possible if you can’t put it out by yourself. Also, make sure your chimney is repaired and maintained.
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