Chimney Fires Can Be Prevented
Chimney fires can cause thousands of dollars of damages in your home and are caused by the flames migrating upward, melting, warping, or negatively affecting the masonry or chimney walls. This sudden combustion, in the majority of cases, can ruin houses and risk lives. These tragedies are normally preventable because you can have your chimney inspected, repaired, or cleaned. This way, the chimney will not be prone to malfunction or collect build-ups that can damage your roof and burn down your home.
A chimney inspection service from Best Cincinnati Chimney can prevent any of this from happening, and can keep you from losing person or property.
What is it?
Combustibles that you burn in the chimney only burn partially. It is hard to avoid incomplete combustion, but you can minimize the impact by properly burning seasoned wood if you have a clean chimney. The residue that comes from incomplete combustion builds up over time that lines the flue with creosote.
Creosote is combustible if it is at the right temperature. When the airflow is blocked or there is a damaged flue, it leads to poor airflow. If there is poor heat flow in your flue, it can cause trapped heat, the chimney heats up more than intended, and this ignites creosote. It burns up that fuel and seeks for more and that fuel may be your home. This chimney fire can be extremely dangerous.
Debris Causes Chimney Fires
Dust build up in your chimney can also cause fires. Leaves, animal carcasses, and other debris can cause flue fires as well. If you have not used your fireplace for a while, you should have it cleaned first.
Chimney fires creates a popping noise and loud cracking, with a lot of dense smoke, and an intense and hot smell. Chimney fires burn explosively that is noisy and dramatic enough that can be detected by people or neighbors around you. Dense smoke or flames shoots from the chimney. Homeowners get startled by rumbling sounds that remind them of a low-flying airplane or freight train.
Flue Tiles Get Damaged
A lot of homes use clay flue tiles to line their chimney. This is rated to be able to withstand high temperatures. However, there are chimney fires that burn over 2,000 degrees that can be too hot for tiles causes damages such as cracking. A vertical crack is a true sign of a previous flue fire.
A crack in your flue liner is a big concern. It increases the possibility for combustibles nearby in the construction in your home. The cracked tiles allow a new pathway for the fire to get out of the flue, which potentially causes a house fire.
Exterior Masonry Cracks
Similar to flue tiles, the brick masonry of the chimney can be damaged by heat. If there is a chimney fire, the brick or mortar joints can open and crack new pathways for fire or heat. These types of cracks are repaired by filling in or “tuck pointing” the crack with new mortar. This is a reason why yearly chimney inspections become critical. These cracks are hard to notice and can cause disaster if it is not repaired before another chimney fire happens.
Most of them are Undetected
Slow-burning chimney fires do not have enough air or have fuel that becomes dramatic or visible and they normally go undetected until there is a chimney inspection. However, the temperatures they reach are high and cause a lot of damage to the chimney’s structure. In addition, the nearby combustible house parts are connected to this.
Scorched Areas
The chimney fire because of high heat can also scorch away the deposits in certain parts of the chimney. This is called glazing and leaves behind areas that only look clean, but are surrounded by combustible deposits.
You can go to Bestcincinnatichimney.com to set an appointment for a chimney inspection.
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