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Chimney safety, when to clean your fireplace


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SALT LAKE CITY — Over the past three weeks, Weber Fire District has responded to the same amount of chimney related fires. During the winter months, the risk of fires increases greatly due to our need to heat our homes.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that during the period of 2007-2011, "The leading factor contributing to home heating fires (28%) was failure to clean, principally creosote from solid-fueled heating equipment, primarily chimneys" a. The same report states that in 2011, heating equipment was involved in an estimated 53,600 home structure fires with an associated loss of 400 civilian deaths, 1,520 injuries and 893 million in direct property damage.

Each year, Weber Fire District responds to several of these types of fires. Most of these incidents can be avoided. "I strongly encourage all home owners who use wood burning stoves to have the stove and chimneys inspected and cleaned by a professional cleaning service each year", says Fire Marshal Brandon Thueson. "This does have a cost associated with it, but the failure to do so could come at a much higher price."

There are some safety tips that everyone can follow to ensure that they are being safe when using wood burning or pellet burning stoves. These include:

1. Ensure that all the installation has been done properly by a licensed contractor. The Building and Fire Codes exist to protect you and your family. Don't short yourself when it comes to safety.

2. Never burn garbage or other items in the stove. Stoves are not design to burn these items and they may produce heavy carbon laden smoke which can lead to a dangerous condition in the chimney or stove.

3. Never burn wood in a gas fireplace. While this seems like a common sense item, there have been cases in which the decorative gas log fireplace in the home was used to burn wood logs. These fireplaces are not built to handle actual wood logs. The result will be a home fire nearly every time.

4. Burn only dry, cured wood. Burning wet fuels, or wood that has a heavy pitch (sap) content can produce more of the substances that create the creosote buildup in the chimney.

5. Never use diesel fuel or gasoline to start your fire. This is an extremely dangerous practice. Gasoline under the right conditions can "jet" as seen in this ATF research video.

The question that we are often asked is, "What do I do if I have a chimney fire?" The good news with chimney fires is that they can usually be avoided; second, they usually give time for you to escape the home.

Signs of a chimney fire include hearing sounds similar to the sound of a "jet engine" running in your home. Chimney fires create an extreme amount of air movement through the chimney and fireplace, resulting in the noise that you hear. Flames are usually visible extending as high at 10 feet from the top of the chimney. This large visible flame is most often spotted by a passerby or a neighbor, who hopefully will stop and notify the owner of the problem. You may also hear popping noises coming from the chimney within your home.

If you have a chimney fire in your home there are some basic steps you must take:

1. Get everyone out of the home and call 911 immediately.

2. Do not go back into the home. Many times the fire will breach the chimney and enter the attic space; fire may be burning in the attic without your knowledge.

3. If, and this is a big IF, the fire department is a long ways away, an attempt may be made to extinguish the fire by discharging a fire extinguisher into the fireplace itself. In some cases, the fire extinguisher powder will float up the chimney with the air currents and extinguish the fire. This is not guaranteed however, so it is a last resort on the home owner's part. We always recommend exiting and not returning until directed that it is safe to do so.

4. Follow the instructions of the fire department. While it is very tempting to rush back in to save valuables or family pets, your life is not replaceable, belongings are.

Other safety tips include:

1. Always have a working smoke detector in each bedroom and hallway of the home.

2. Never use too many logs in the fire. While you may want to keep the fire going all night, it is not worth the risk. Follow the manufactures recommendations on quantity of logs or pellets to burn.

3. Practice home fire evacuations with your family. We are used to doing this at work, but most never do this at home. How will your family react in the middle of the night when the smoke alarms go off?

(For more information see http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/for-consumers/escape-planning ).

Watch the video above to see more on how to know when to clean your chimney to prevent a fire in your home.

AAA London Chimney Sweep: 801-573-6620

Fire Marshal Brandon Thueson of Weber Fire District contributed to this story.

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Nicole Vowell

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