We had a chimney fire in early April. I had one of these flares for 38 years and never needed it until that night, the price sticker was still on it $4.69. My wife had already called the fire department. I lit the flare and put it in the stove the fire went out within 30 seconds. The fire department arrived and were amazed we had one of these flares. They said they are the single best items wood stove users should have. The chimney guy came the following Wednesday cleaned our chimney also saying these flares work. I have two in stock in case I ever need it. The chimney guy said every few weeks to throw and aluminum can into the stove. The aluminum oxide will loosen the creosote on the chimney walls.
Thank you so much, really really appreciate this. You have no idea. Thank you!!!! You guys are helping me keep my family safe and I can actually sleep better at night. God bless you!! ❤😊❤
Per a chimney sweep business's website: "Many have claimed that burning aluminum cans is an effective technique to clean your chimney. Though there may have been cases where this method has worked slightly, nothing takes the place of actually cleaning out the chimney. In fire tests conducted on aluminum materials, it was found that when fire temperatures exceed the melting point (which occurs at a range of 600-660°C), aluminum surfaces that are exposed to the fire can melt, but do not burn. Heating the cans causes an increase in heat in a chimney which can help prevent creosote from building up on a clean chimney. However, aluminum oxides are very stable and do not react to high temperature. This means that there will not be much of an impact on built-up creosote. ....To help prevent creosote from building up in your fireplace, it is important to use efficient burning techniques. For example, burn small, hot fires using hardwood Our professionals at Brick + Ember Outfitters recommend that homeowners get their chimney system serviced at least once a year."
Thank you, I had no clue this was possible. Ordered one today. If you are watching this for the first time the actual content starts at 7:25 , skip ahead. The rest is all loosely related Anecdotal viewing engagement stories.
I have actually had good results by tearing off the top of a box of baking soda and fling the contents into the fire and close it up tight. The fire gets extinguished or drastically reduced, and the heat rising up the chimney carries a portion of the soda up and reduces or extinguishes the fire there.
Except you didn't ask your neighbor. You chose to watch a video OFFERED by this channel which means you can take it for what it is or spend the time to do your own research and find the info your looking for. Probly take you more time than it took to watch this video though.
I was walking around my older townhouse community about fifteen years ago and saw sparks coming out of the chimney of an end unit. The wind was blowing in just the right direction that the sparks were falling all along the roofline. I rang their bell and by the time they came out to see it, there were flames popping up out of the chimney and the sparks were starting to make some of the shingles smolder and smoke a bit. Luckily our townhouses were built in 1969 and these were solid ceramic core brick chimneys with concrete tops and steel caps, and our roofs had asbestos shingles.
We have an outside the house chimney. Those chimneys have a tendency to creosote faster do to begin outside and cooler. We clean our chimney every two weeks marked on the calendar. Been burning wood for 50 years with good luck. We do keep two firesticks on hand.
When I was a kid(8yrs)we rented a cottage in the summer, 2nd day there the night got cold so we lit the airtight(sort of)in the cottage. About an hour later we heard that scary train/tornado sound coming from the woodstove. Luckily I was tasked with watering the owners flower and vegetable gardens while we were there and he had a really decent jet pump set up on his cottage. So I just walked outside turned the hose on and adjusted the spray nozzle for fully tight strongest stream and it easily reached the top of the A frame peak where the chimney cap was and with hitting the side of the piping and a little bit down the pipe(not too much)I had extinguished the chimney fire before even anybody else came outside to see what they could do to stop it, they had closed the damper and dialed the stove airscrews down tight and everything was done. I was the local hero for the week and the owner was really nice to me for the rest of his life. He was a helluva a good guy and I really enjoyed talking with him everytime I would see him as I grew. He was very thankful that I was there at the time and even at such a young age, that I had a grasp of knowledge enough to take care of his cottage. It was scary though if that hose had not been there and his pump not strong enough, the cottage would fer sure have burned to the ground, all he had was older tin type piping up through the whole place and one 2ft section of insulated to run through the roofing joist. The flames and sparks coming out of the cap area of the piping were at least 10ft and bright in colour so it was damn hot and only had tar shingles all around the stack. I was just happy to help.
Thank you so much for showing an actual fireplace chimney on the roof. Mine is burnt looking like the one you showed, so I guess it's normal. I couldn't sleep many days worried, but we need heat at night. I'm much more comfortable now. Thank you so so much! ❤😊
Simple to put a chimney fire out, add 2 cups of water on the fire slowly not to put the fire in hearth out as you need that to create the steam to put fire out. The steam rises and puts the fire out in the chimney. The secret is don't add to much water. Wait few minutes minutes then add another cup of water slowly to make steam. This is the method fire brigade used attending my chimney fire. Allways keep small bucket of water and cup close to fire place for this reason is my insurance. It works purfectly this method was known by most people years ago when every home had a open fire.
This method worked for me about 30 years ago. I heard what sounded like sand raining down inside the long stovepipe and a couple of backpressure puffs of smoke came into the house. Half a cup of water on the hot coals, as to not damage the hot woodstove and closed the side door. Steam shot up the 24 ft stack and the fire was out 🙏. Scary few seconds for sure.
Our son had a chimney fire and the daughter-in- law called the fire dept. It was very scary for them. The fire dept told them the best way to put out a chimney fire is to through wet newspapers into the stove and the steam from the newspapers will put out the fire. They didn’t have anything to good to say about that gadget the two guys used 🤔
When we had a chimney fire in the 60's the firemen advised we kept a large washing up liquid bottle full of water near the fireplace (was open fire) and just squirt water up the chimney to put a chimney fire out.
Had a chimney fire a few years ago, when my wood burning stove was roaring and set fire to the flue. Outside it looked like a volcano erupting with lots of smoke & flames. Managed to put it out by 1. dousing the fire in the stove using a garden sprayer & bottle of water, then 2. rammed a wet dust sheet into the throat of the stove, to cut off the air supply. It worked a treat but was pretty scary. After it all cooled down, I swept the chimney before relighting the stove.
I used the same technique, much to the surprise of the firemen. They couldn't believe I'd had a chimney fire until they saw my son's video. Break the fire triangle for success.
When I used to be a firefighter, we would use our water extinguishers to do that. Spray the coals, which steamed upwards up the chimney, and usually would put the fire out. The one warning I got(though I never saw it happen), was to be sparing with the water. The quick change in temperature could end up cracking the liner
Wow thanks so much. I just had a weird situation happen with my wood stove. It was like a propane stove leaking gas and then it was literally. A whoosh. I could have lost my eye brows. I shut the flute to limit oxygen. Tomorrow I will sweep the chimney myself and order one of those gadgets you demonstrated in your video. This house I am in is a rebuild from the exact situation.
I thought it was all interesting. The video wasn't that long and the information was free. People want free information and people to take the time to give it but complain about how they do it. smh
I had one in a fireplace what I did was I found some sheet metal I had perfect to cover the fireplace opening cut the oxygen put it out. I put some 8x8 concrete blocks to hold it it was hot and we called the fire department by the time they got up there looked at it was out. I had a guy come out clean it he said the fire burned most of it away. My fireplace has a very thick liner in it so he said likely would not have burned my house down unless something fell on the roof. Now I have it cleaned once a year well worth $220.
I am quite sure that shooting off the cap was unrelated to the fire stopping... think how long that took, it was probably just that the chimney fire simply burned itself out because it used up all the fuel in the chimney
Modern stoves and furnaces are more efficient and send cooler smoke up the chimney which allows the build up of creosote. Long chimneys typically draft better to expel the particulates. Insulated double-lined stainless flue seems to be a great option on an exterior chimney. But the old standard is the clay flue brick chimney. The smoke heats up the mass of the chimney and provides heat long after the fire dies. I have an old house with an inefficient wood stove and a 30 foot long clay flue chimney. The chimney running through every story of the house stays warm and provides constant heat. I run an 8" square brush to clean it once year and get less than a gallon of soot-never creosote-just messy soot. Just clean your chimney once in a while and you are doing better than most and shouldn't have an issue. Oh yeah, I only burn hard wood and I wouldn't necessarily call it seasoned. ,
One of my buddies came home for lunch one day and the pot bellied stove, which had been stoked by his wife a few minutes before, began to make strange pulsing noise. He quickly identified it as a flu fire and threw a half gallon on CoolAid into the stove. The resulting explosion blew steam and fly ash all over his den and kitchen. It put the flu fire out but the clean up took an entire day.
Here's the problem... if you put out the fire you have only solved the result and not the cause. Especially those who heat only with wood might not understand, though they should, that there will be another fire if they continue to use the chimney. This is a situation where prevention is paramount. Creosote forms when green (unseasoned) wood is burned and also when a slow fire is kept as in banking the fire for the night. Unless you have a poorly constructed chimney setup the best way to avoid buildup is to burn a hot or roaring fire whenever you kindle your stove or fireplace. This will burn off the excess creosote and prevent a larger chimney fire from starting. Usually fireplaces will burn hot enough that creosote will not form anyway due to poor draft control. It is these airtight stoves that are generally the most problematic due to incomplete combustion from lack of oxygen when closed up. This might be a good product for someone who neglects their chimney but I think it is far better to clean the entire chimney and pipes yearly and to burn hot fires regularly to keep buildup to a minimum for a safe wood heating solution. This method has worked for me these past sixty years that I've been heating with wood. Blessings
I agree. We have a newer install. The installer recommended have a small hot fire in the morning. So it is, wife gets the morning fire going on last nights coals. Runs a a cycle were it burns hot, house warm, rake the coals through the day, load it up, runs a cycle where it burns front to back, repeat. Remove ash/coals as required [garden use]. We have 2 45 degree elbows where upon cleaning found the most creosote build up. Installer stated the chimney is rated for a chimney fire. He stated one could toss a water soaked paper towel roll into the stove to extinguish. Not my words. Our wood is 2 years dry now. Expecting better chimney clean out next year. Friends dad had his chimney 80% blocked and back draft from unseasoned wood last year. Pulled over years ago upon seeing a chimney fire on an old farm house. Yelled into the house "FIRE" Looking for people eventually an old fella come up a forest trail. Fire Department was now onsite and he happened to be poaching and had 7 deer in the barn. Karma. Clean it each year. Peace of mind.
Heard a story once about a 12 gauge used to sweep the chimney by firing it up the pipe… so happened to be there was a little concrete inspection door wallpapered over just beside the bed in the master bedroom. It blew out and guaranteed a dark night’s sleep. 😂
I cleaned my entire chimney 4 weeks ago. We had a few unusually warm days recently so my fires were lower temperature. This morning, I noticed that the 2 logs I put on coals in the middle of the night, were only partially burned and the stove was full of dense smoke. I hit it with a torch and it lit nicely. Started frying up some eggs and we smelled burning plastic? Then saw thick smoke coming from seems in double wall pipe and it was a chimney fire. I immediately used an extinguisher in stove and sent some down from the top and flipped the cap over to starve air. Then shoveled out everything that was in the stove and spent the day cleaning. Point is, the pipe wasn’t very dirty to begin with, but igniting the smoke in the pipe caused an event. Next time I see a stove full of smoke, I will consider my options better.
Had a chimney fire 30 years ago. Had it out before the fire Dept arrived by shooting water down from the top via a hose- which destroyed the inside pipe and resulted in having a new chimney built. Fire Depth said: WRONG. They said to shoot the water into the cleanout of the chimney which would via steam rising would’ve put out the fire AND have saved the chimney. OK - next time
Chimney fires are serious. I once watched a chimney fire burn a house to the ground. It was in a very rural area away from any good water supply. Volunteer Fire Department was on scene quickly, but they lacked enough water to knock the fire down completely. They had a large pool that was filled by a pumper truck that had to run several miles to the lake to get water. Before they got back, they had drained the pool and the fire quickly built back up. This happened several times and the fire finally took the house down. The lesson here is make sure your chimney is clean. Also helps to have lots of non-combustible material around the chimney, perhaps double or triple what code requires.
I had a chimney fire. I closed all the dampers, etc but there must still have been enough air leakage so it kept on burning. I ran to the top of my house, up the short ladder that was always against the chimney, put on the gloves, lifted the conical top off. Flames were down below, not up there where I was. I flipped the top over and set in on top of the chimney. This sealed it well and stopped almost all the airflow, and the chimney fire went out.
So you said you flipped the top over and set on top of the chimney"? Wow. Didn't that burn your asss or were you able to just hover over the chimney top until the fire went out? Amazing story.
Wood stove size can have something to do with it also. If your stove is too big for your room/house, you will tend to burn it "colder" to avoid having it too hot in your room/house. This will increase creosote buildup in your chimney. Better to get a smaller stove and burn it hot than have a stove that is too big and burn it cold.
Not me, I have a huge old Kodiak that holds a lot of wood, I fill it up and it burns for a long time. I have a chimney brush that I use every month or two. That fire putter outer is a must have. I think 99% of people, including myself, have had chimney 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥
Had a chimney fire. Very scary. Threw water on the fire and all the smoke evidently snuffed out the fire in the chimney. Worked immediately. Fire department came and checked everything. Fast forward, use gas fireplace now.
I had one once. I filled a large salad bowl with water and chucked it into the fireplace and shut the door. It instantly turned to steam and thank God, it extinguished the fire.
There should be a smoke damper in the chimney. Just close the smoke damper and voila, chimney fire eats the oxygen from the chimney and the chimney the fire goes out. Smoke damper also prevents the cold air creeping in when it is cold outside. I live in Finland and I guarantee, every chimney here has a smoke damper.
Great advice but if you close the damper on a live fireplace , your house will rapidly fill with smoke no? Smoke is what does the damage and costs thousands to clean up and remove.
@@jspee1965 No need to TOTALLY close the damper. By closing it enough to stop extra air to pass the fireplace stops the chimney fire from getting oxygen and it extinguishes.
When i stopped using ny masonry chimney because the flew tile was cracked i went to a insulated double wall stainless steel pipe. Where it enters my basement i have enough room to clean the chimney from the saftey of my basement. I clean my chimney atleast every 2 weeks in the winter. The cleaner the better
For a wood stove, close the dampers to cut the air off. Take a plastic or styrofoam cup, larger the better. Slowly open the stove door as it will backdraft. Throw the entire cup of water in and close the stove door. The dense burst of steam up the chimney will immediately snuff out the fire. Those flairs will prob work fine. They are the same thing as the Element fire extinguisher they sell to strap to the roll cage of offroad vehicles. Basically just expel a bunch of carbon dioxide. If you want something just in case of a chimney fire just get an actual CO2 fire extinguisher so it can be used for more than just one situation.
I did the water thing for the one time we had a chimney fire and it worked fine, but twisted the firebox on the antique wood stove...small price to pay.😅
i was thinking the same. Why not just get a CO2 fire extinguisher? Like honestly, everyone should have one of those in their house anyway, especially if you have a fire or wood burner. Chimney fires aren't the only way a fireplace can get out of control. If you regularly have things burning in your house, even if it's just candles, you should have at least one fire extinguisher. it's a simple and versatile solution to many potentially disastrous problems
Another way to put out the fire fast, at least in the fireplace, is to use wood ash or salt. I have half a bucket of wood ash just for this. No chimney fire yet though. Knock on wood. Cheers
Not all sound like freight trains had one few years back couldn't hear it only way I found it was house was starting to fill with smoke, peeked in basement and could see flames were the block off fell out firer department had to put that one out for me, tried the water trick didn't work in this sinario cause we're the stove was upstairs the firer was about 7 feet below , but water trick worked in the shed when I needed it
I've heard if you burn spruce regularly it keeps the chimney clean. I assume the sparks it gives off stick to the soot or whatever gunk you have there and burn it off in a "controlled" manner.
If you have a clean burning fireplace (with an enclosed fire chamber and afterburner air injection nozzles inside), there should be close to no risk of a chimney fire. I think so because there are very few particulates in the exhaust stream because the combustion is pretty much complete. And the exhaust gases are supposed to have relatively low temperatures, around 100 °C (212 °F). As a bonus you don't pollute the air in the neighborhood very much and the exhaust is mainly CO2, not CO.
❤ DON'T TAKE CHANCES! My great-aunt and her family were killed when a chimney fire exploded before they could get out of the house! Get your chimney cleaned regularly, or just don't use it! Also, Chimfex only works if you have a fireplace door that will keep the oxygen out.
Your not addressing several questions about what if you don’t have doors. Is there something or an idea to have something on hand to cover the fireplace opening?
Maybe your too stupid to pit a board or something to cut off the air supply ,,,this dumb best not to burn ,,I need someone to wipe my butt how do I do that
Soak a bath towel. Don't worry about dripping on the floor . Throw it over coals and close the door. Run and get another soaked bath towel and throw that one in . Repeat Then go buy one of the flares and call in the chimney inspector.
Water in a pressurised spray, even a hand pumped type was good enough when my flue went on fire. Water soon turns to steam and within few squirts spray water the fire was out.
I just dumped water on the burning fireplace logs and hot firebrick in the fireplace. The resulting steam choked out the fire. Smoke was gushing out of the chimney as though it was being pressurized out.
If you heat your house totally with wood, you should clean your chimney 2 or 3 times each winter and that''s if you are well experienced with what wood to burn and familiar with your stove. if you are new at this, do it more often until you know how often it needs it.
You must ether be an idiot or really board to post a comment like that. What difference does it make if it took 1 second or 30 as long as the fire went out. I see that your in good company as some of your fellow idiots agreed with you.
I had a chimney fire once and I just used the fire extinguisher I dumped the powder fire extinguisher into the fireplace and shut down the damper and the fire went out what you're trying to sell for $25 there is probably nothing but a road flare the last about 30 seconds
In Europe a new law was passed by which all new stoves are obliged to have the Ecodesign2022 , which means all new stoves have double burning which should leave your chimney squeaky clean and chimney fires are a thing of the past.
This retired fire capt has looked in more chimneys than Santa Clause, the easy way is to throw a cup of water onto the fire and the steam puts the fire out, done it hundreds of times!
I have a CO2 tank full of gas, I have put out a fire in a popcorn machine by flooding the machine with CO2. Wonder if it would work if I ran the hose into the fireplace and opened the valve full blast, about a 1500 psi blast that will last about five minutes. Definitely would push out the oxygen up the chimney and displace it with CO2.
Know how hot to burn wood in a fireplace helps to! I DO NOT LET THE FLAMES GO UP INTO THE FLUE! I keep the flames down a few inches from the top, It it get up higher i will spray the flames down with water, until it keeps flames where i want them.. That my hottest setting 👉👉 My coldest setting is? A small campfire. where it keeps the chili out of the house.. Plus it don't hurt to spray water into the fire box of a fireplace > all it does is create steam
We had a chimney fire in early April. I had one of these flares for 38 years and never needed it until that night, the price sticker was still on it $4.69. My wife had already called the fire department. I lit the flare and put it in the stove the fire went out within 30 seconds. The fire department arrived and were amazed we had one of these flares. They said they are the single best items wood stove users should have. The chimney guy came the following Wednesday cleaned our chimney also saying these flares work. I have two in stock in case I ever need it. The chimney guy said every few weeks to throw and aluminum can into the stove. The aluminum oxide will loosen the creosote on the chimney walls.
Good to know about the aluminum can trick
Thanks 🙏
Will try it this winter
Thank you so much, really really appreciate this. You have no idea. Thank you!!!! You guys are helping me keep my family safe and I can actually sleep better at night. God bless you!! ❤😊❤
Per a chimney sweep business's website: "Many have claimed that burning aluminum cans is an effective technique to clean your chimney. Though there may have been cases where this method has worked slightly, nothing takes the place of actually cleaning out the chimney.
In fire tests conducted on aluminum materials, it was found that when fire temperatures exceed the melting point (which occurs at a range of 600-660°C), aluminum surfaces that are exposed to the fire can melt, but do not burn. Heating the cans causes an increase in heat in a chimney which can help prevent creosote from building up on a clean chimney. However, aluminum oxides are very stable and do not react to high temperature. This means that there will not be much of an impact on built-up creosote.
....To help prevent creosote from building up in your fireplace, it is important to use efficient burning techniques. For example, burn small, hot fires using hardwood
Our professionals at Brick + Ember Outfitters recommend that homeowners get their chimney system serviced at least once a year."
Great tip with the aluminum can
@@dryerventcleans His tip is false. Aluminum cans do NOT loosen the creosote. See my comment above.
Thank you, I had no clue this was possible. Ordered one today. If you are watching this for the first time the actual content starts at 7:25 , skip ahead. The rest is all loosely related Anecdotal viewing engagement stories.
You’re awesome! Thank you
Saved several minutes of jabbering. Thanks!
Mentioned price $25 in video. Link given takes to Amazon $35.99 for one. Did you pay that price?
@@cyndib3587 I would happily pay $50 for this.
Thanks
I have actually had good results by tearing off the top of a box of baking soda and fling the contents into the fire and close it up tight. The fire gets extinguished or drastically reduced, and the heat rising up the chimney carries a portion of the soda up and reduces or extinguishes the fire there.
This also works because heating baking soda releases carbon dioxide, essentially suffocating the fire from oxygen
I feel like i just asked my neighbor a simple question and he jabbered on for 30 minutes before answering while i contemplated jumping out the window.
Except you didn't ask your neighbor. You chose to watch a video OFFERED by this channel which means you can take it for what it is or spend the time to do your own research and find the info your looking for. Probly take you more time than it took to watch this video though.
😅😅😅
Start viewing at 5:45 ......
I think it is pretty funny. @@JK-mr8wv
I was walking around my older townhouse community about fifteen years ago and saw sparks coming out of the chimney of an end unit. The wind was blowing in just the right direction that the sparks were falling all along the roofline. I rang their bell and by the time they came out to see it, there were flames popping up out of the chimney and the sparks were starting to make some of the shingles smolder and smoke a bit. Luckily our townhouses were built in 1969 and these were solid ceramic core brick chimneys with concrete tops and steel caps, and our roofs had asbestos shingles.
We have an outside the house chimney. Those chimneys have a tendency to creosote faster do to begin outside and cooler. We clean our chimney every two weeks marked on the calendar. Been burning wood for 50 years with good luck. We do keep two firesticks on hand.
Well said, not every two years !
Actual content of video begins at 6:30
Thanks for sparing me from the mundane cheeter chatter 👍
They don’t even light the dang thing. What a waste of time.
Dang after 6 mins I went to the comments and by 6:37 I seen this💀🤣🤣 not a bad video tho
I saw the video was over 10 minutes long so I immediately went to the comments. Thank you for saving me several minutes!
Yeah, that would have been useful to know.
When I was a kid(8yrs)we rented a cottage in the summer, 2nd day there the night got cold so we lit the airtight(sort of)in the cottage. About an hour later we heard that scary train/tornado sound coming from the woodstove. Luckily I was tasked with watering the owners flower and vegetable gardens while we were there and he had a really decent jet pump set up on his cottage. So I just walked outside turned the hose on and adjusted the spray nozzle for fully tight strongest stream and it easily reached the top of the A frame peak where the chimney cap was and with hitting the side of the piping and a little bit down the pipe(not too much)I had extinguished the chimney fire before even anybody else came outside to see what they could do to stop it, they had closed the damper and dialed the stove airscrews down tight and everything was done. I was the local hero for the week and the owner was really nice to me for the rest of his life. He was a helluva a good guy and I really enjoyed talking with him everytime I would see him as I grew. He was very thankful that I was there at the time and even at such a young age, that I had a grasp of knowledge enough to take care of his cottage. It was scary though if that hose had not been there and his pump not strong enough, the cottage would fer sure have burned to the ground, all he had was older tin type piping up through the whole place and one 2ft section of insulated to run through the roofing joist. The flames and sparks coming out of the cap area of the piping were at least 10ft and bright in colour so it was damn hot and only had tar shingles all around the stack. I was just happy to help.
Thank you so much for showing an actual fireplace chimney on the roof. Mine is burnt looking like the one you showed, so I guess it's normal. I couldn't sleep many days worried, but we need heat at night. I'm much more comfortable now. Thank you so so much! ❤😊
Simple to put a chimney fire out, add 2 cups of water on the fire slowly not to put the fire in hearth out as you need that to create the steam to put fire out. The steam rises and puts the fire out in the chimney. The secret is don't add to much water. Wait few minutes minutes then add another cup of water slowly to make steam. This is the method fire brigade used attending my chimney fire. Allways keep small bucket of water and cup close to fire place for this reason is my insurance. It works purfectly this method was known by most people years ago when every home had a open fire.
This method worked for me about 30 years ago. I heard what sounded like sand raining down inside the long stovepipe and a couple of backpressure puffs of smoke came into the house. Half a cup of water on the hot coals, as to not damage the hot woodstove and closed the side door. Steam shot up the 24 ft stack and the fire was out 🙏. Scary few seconds for sure.
Our son had a chimney fire and the daughter-in- law called the fire dept. It was very scary for them. The fire dept told them the best way to put out a chimney fire is to through wet newspapers into the stove and the steam from the newspapers will put out the fire. They didn’t have anything to good to say about that gadget the two guys used 🤔
Spray bottle with hand pump is excellent way. Or a pressurised sprayer water only.
When we had a chimney fire in the 60's the firemen advised we kept a large washing up liquid bottle full of water near the fireplace (was open fire) and just squirt water up the chimney to put a chimney fire out.
Had a chimney fire a few years ago, when my wood burning stove was roaring and set fire to the flue. Outside it looked like a volcano erupting with lots of smoke & flames. Managed to put it out by 1. dousing the fire in the stove using a garden sprayer & bottle of water, then 2. rammed a wet dust sheet into the throat of the stove, to cut off the air supply. It worked a treat but was pretty scary. After it all cooled down, I swept the chimney before relighting the stove.
I used the same technique, much to the surprise of the firemen. They couldn't believe I'd had a chimney fire until they saw my son's video. Break the fire triangle for success.
When I used to be a firefighter, we would use our water extinguishers to do that. Spray the coals, which steamed upwards up the chimney, and usually would put the fire out. The one warning I got(though I never saw it happen), was to be sparing with the water. The quick change in temperature could end up cracking the liner
@@OldMotorcycleAdventures beauty advice. 🍻
Another big mistake folks make is to burn wet wood. The cooler burning temps leads to more creosote production from incomplete combustion.
Great point
That's exactly what happend to me. f
Wow thanks so much. I just had a weird situation happen with my wood stove. It was like a propane stove leaking gas and then it was literally. A whoosh. I could have lost my eye brows. I shut the flute to limit oxygen. Tomorrow I will sweep the chimney myself and order one of those gadgets you demonstrated in your video. This house I am in is a rebuild from the exact situation.
10minute video to explain a 22second process? My house is in 🔥 waiting for you guys to get to the point.
😂😂😂😂👍👍👍👍👍
HA HA HA HA yea exactly what i thought, Proper Rambling rose.
I thought it was all interesting. The video wasn't that long and the information was free. People want free information and people to take the time to give it but complain about how they do it. smh
@@dianabaskin1944 then you complain about them
i wish it was longer 🤣@@raccoondon488
I had one in a fireplace what I did was I found some sheet metal I had perfect to cover the fireplace opening cut the oxygen put it out. I put some 8x8 concrete blocks to hold it it was hot and we called the fire department by the time they got up there looked at it was out. I had a guy come out clean it he said the fire burned most of it away. My fireplace has a very thick liner in it so he said likely would not have burned my house down unless something fell on the roof. Now I have it cleaned once a year well worth $220.
Same.... rather spend the 200 bucks and get it cleaned one a year
You could clean it yourself with a 60 dollar kit from the hardware store. Nevertheless paying 220 is better than being dead I guess.
I am quite sure that shooting off the cap was unrelated to the fire stopping... think how long that took, it was probably just that the chimney fire simply burned itself out because it used up all the fuel in the chimney
Guy used a 12Ga to put out a chimney fire? Legendary!!
Modern stoves and furnaces are more efficient and send cooler smoke up the chimney which allows the build up of creosote. Long chimneys typically draft better to expel the particulates. Insulated double-lined stainless flue seems to be a great option on an exterior chimney. But the old standard is the clay flue brick chimney. The smoke heats up the mass of the chimney and provides heat long after the fire dies. I have an old house with an inefficient wood stove and a 30 foot long clay flue chimney. The chimney running through every story of the house stays warm and provides constant heat. I run an 8" square brush to clean it once year and get less than a gallon of soot-never creosote-just messy soot. Just clean your chimney once in a while and you are doing better than most and shouldn't have an issue. Oh yeah, I only burn hard wood and I wouldn't necessarily call it seasoned.
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One of my buddies came home for lunch one day and the pot bellied stove, which had been stoked by his wife a few minutes before, began to make strange pulsing noise. He quickly identified it as a flu fire and threw a half gallon on CoolAid into the stove. The resulting explosion blew steam and fly ash all over his den and kitchen. It put the flu fire out but the clean up took an entire day.
That explosion was that huge "Hey, Cool Aid!" guy trying to burst through. Haven't seen him for a while, hope that incident didn't kill him 😢
Thank you for the info and I loved the story! 😁
Here's the problem... if you put out the fire you have only solved the result and not the cause. Especially those who heat only with wood might not understand, though they should, that there will be another fire if they continue to use the chimney. This is a situation where prevention is paramount. Creosote forms when green (unseasoned) wood is burned and also when a slow fire is kept as in banking the fire for the night. Unless you have a poorly constructed chimney setup the best way to avoid buildup is to burn a hot or roaring fire whenever you kindle your stove or fireplace. This will burn off the excess creosote and prevent a larger chimney fire from starting. Usually fireplaces will burn hot enough that creosote will not form anyway due to poor draft control. It is these airtight stoves that are generally the most problematic due to incomplete combustion from lack of oxygen when closed up. This might be a good product for someone who neglects their chimney but I think it is far better to clean the entire chimney and pipes yearly and to burn hot fires regularly to keep buildup to a minimum for a safe wood heating solution. This method has worked for me these past sixty years that I've been heating with wood. Blessings
I agree. We have a newer install. The installer recommended have a small hot fire in the morning. So it is, wife gets the morning fire going on last nights coals. Runs a a cycle were it burns hot, house warm, rake the coals through the day, load it up, runs a cycle where it burns front to back, repeat. Remove ash/coals as required [garden use]. We have 2 45 degree elbows where upon cleaning found the most creosote build up. Installer stated the chimney is rated for a chimney fire. He stated one could toss a water soaked paper towel roll into the stove to extinguish. Not my words. Our wood is 2 years dry now. Expecting better chimney clean out next year. Friends dad had his chimney 80% blocked and back draft from unseasoned wood last year. Pulled over years ago upon seeing a chimney fire on an old farm house. Yelled into the house "FIRE" Looking for people eventually an old fella come up a forest trail. Fire Department was now onsite and he happened to be poaching and had 7 deer in the barn.
Karma. Clean it each year. Peace of mind.
Keep your chimney clean and have a way to extinguish a chimney fire just in case. Thanks for the video!
Heard a story once about a 12 gauge used to sweep the chimney by firing it up the pipe… so happened to be there was a little concrete inspection door wallpapered over just beside the bed in the master bedroom. It blew out and guaranteed a dark night’s sleep. 😂
I cleaned my entire chimney 4 weeks ago. We had a few unusually warm days recently so my fires were lower temperature. This morning, I noticed that the 2 logs I put on coals in the middle of the night, were only partially burned and the stove was full of dense smoke. I hit it with a torch and it lit nicely. Started frying up some eggs and we smelled burning plastic? Then saw thick smoke coming from seems in double wall pipe and it was a chimney fire. I immediately used an extinguisher in stove and sent some down from the top and flipped the cap over to starve air. Then shoveled out everything that was in the stove and spent the day cleaning. Point is, the pipe wasn’t very dirty to begin with, but igniting the smoke in the pipe caused an event. Next time I see a stove full of smoke, I will consider my options better.
Didn't know I needed to see this! Thank you! love the shot gun cap removal technique haha
Had a chimney fire 30 years ago. Had it out before the fire Dept arrived by shooting water down from the top via a hose- which destroyed the inside pipe and resulted in having a new chimney built.
Fire Depth said: WRONG. They said to shoot the water into the cleanout of the chimney which would via steam rising would’ve put out the fire AND have saved the chimney. OK - next time
"...water into the cleanout of the chimney..." Would you re-word that for me? I don't follow exactly what youre saying.
@tattooedmilionare, I believe they have a small door, on the side, that can be opened to clean out ashes after a normal burn.
oh yeah. (1 of my chimneys has it the other does not. I always wondered what it was for - lol. Thank you :-)@@tiredofit1429
Wet newspapers will work
Chimney fires are serious.
I once watched a chimney fire burn a house to the ground. It was in a very rural area away from any good water supply. Volunteer Fire Department was on scene quickly, but they lacked enough water to knock the fire down completely. They had a large pool that was filled by a pumper truck that had to run several miles to the lake to get water. Before they got back, they had drained the pool and the fire quickly built back up. This happened several times and the fire finally took the house down.
The lesson here is make sure your chimney is clean. Also helps to have lots of non-combustible material around the chimney, perhaps double or triple what code requires.
You used the good ole boy method. They are everywhere.
I had a chimney fire. I closed all the dampers, etc but there must still have been enough air leakage so it kept on burning. I ran to the top of my house, up the short ladder that was always against the chimney, put on the gloves, lifted the conical top off. Flames were down below, not up there where I was. I flipped the top over and set in on top of the chimney. This sealed it well and stopped almost all the airflow, and the chimney fire went out.
Wow, sounds like quite the experience. Glad it worked out.
So you said you flipped the top over and set on top of the chimney"? Wow. Didn't that burn your asss or were you able to just hover over the chimney top until the fire went out? Amazing story.
Wood stove size can have something to do with it also. If your stove is too big for your room/house, you will tend to burn it "colder" to avoid having it too hot in your room/house. This will increase creosote buildup in your chimney. Better to get a smaller stove and burn it hot than have a stove that is too big and burn it cold.
Not me, I have a huge old Kodiak that holds a lot of wood, I fill it up and it burns for a long time. I have a chimney brush that I use every month or two. That fire putter outer is a must have. I think 99% of people, including myself, have had chimney 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥
Untrue
You are absolutely correct, well said. The comment by speadfreak claims to know better, but he & 99% people he knows have chimney fires !
I have used these many times over the years. I swear by them. Rural king sells them around 15 dollars.
That is a better deal. Glad it has worked well for you.
Had a chimney fire. Very scary. Threw water on the fire and all the smoke evidently snuffed out the fire in the chimney. Worked immediately. Fire department came and checked everything. Fast forward, use gas fireplace now.
Wussy. Just kidding ;)
Or you could've just found a professional chimney sweep, cheaper than paying for gas.
Amazing. Why didn’t we hear about this before?
So is it just a road flare marked way up? What’s the difference?
I had one once. I filled a large salad bowl with water and chucked it into the fireplace and shut the door. It instantly turned to steam and thank God, it extinguished the fire.
Thank you for the informative video. 👍👍
I would think a box of baking soda blown into the chimney by a shop vacuum would work also.
There should be a smoke damper in the chimney. Just close the smoke damper and voila, chimney fire eats the oxygen from the chimney and the chimney the fire goes out. Smoke damper also prevents the cold air creeping in when it is cold outside. I live in Finland and I guarantee, every chimney here has a smoke damper.
Great advice but if you close the damper on a live fireplace , your house will rapidly fill with smoke no? Smoke is what does the damage and costs thousands to clean up and remove.
@@jspee1965 No need to TOTALLY close the damper. By closing it enough to stop extra air to pass the fireplace stops the chimney fire from getting oxygen and it extinguishes.
I catch mine on fire on purpose to clean it.
In our state stove pipe passing through ceiling spaces have to be three pipes to protect the building
We have two equivalent things of these, luckily never had to use in 15 years 😊
When i stopped using ny masonry chimney because the flew tile was cracked i went to a insulated double wall stainless steel pipe. Where it enters my basement i have enough room to clean the chimney from the saftey of my basement. I clean my chimney atleast every 2 weeks in the winter. The cleaner the better
GET ON WITH IT !!!!!
Just wondering if you shut the damper and close the furnace or stove door, would that not starve the fire in the chimney?
I would shut the damper and close the door.
That's how I put mine out, sounded like a freight train
For a wood stove, close the dampers to cut the air off. Take a plastic or styrofoam cup, larger the better. Slowly open the stove door as it will backdraft. Throw the entire cup of water in and close the stove door. The dense burst of steam up the chimney will immediately snuff out the fire.
Those flairs will prob work fine. They are the same thing as the Element fire extinguisher they sell to strap to the roll cage of offroad vehicles. Basically just expel a bunch of carbon dioxide.
If you want something just in case of a chimney fire just get an actual CO2 fire extinguisher so it can be used for more than just one situation.
I did the water thing for the one time we had a chimney fire and it worked fine, but twisted the firebox on the antique wood stove...small price to pay.😅
i was thinking the same. Why not just get a CO2 fire extinguisher? Like honestly, everyone should have one of those in their house anyway, especially if you have a fire or wood burner. Chimney fires aren't the only way a fireplace can get out of control. If you regularly have things burning in your house, even if it's just candles, you should have at least one fire extinguisher. it's a simple and versatile solution to many potentially disastrous problems
I've actually used this technique to fight an active chimney fire and it worked almost immediately.
Don't throw water on your fire people, this is stupid.
What good would a fire extinguisher do? The fire is inside the pipe, going up inside the pipe another 10’ up on the roof.
Another way to put out the fire fast, at least in the fireplace, is to use wood ash or salt. I have half a bucket of wood ash just for this. No chimney fire yet though. Knock on wood. Cheers
Yes, chimney fires sound like freight trains. Had one start up about 15 years ago. Scary shit.
Not all sound like freight trains had one few years back couldn't hear it only way I found it was house was starting to fill with smoke, peeked in basement and could see flames were the block off fell out firer department had to put that one out for me, tried the water trick didn't work in this sinario cause we're the stove was upstairs the firer was about 7 feet below , but water trick worked in the shed when I needed it
I've heard if you burn spruce regularly it keeps the chimney clean. I assume the sparks it gives off stick to the soot or whatever gunk you have there and burn it off in a "controlled" manner.
If you have a clean burning fireplace (with an enclosed fire chamber and afterburner air injection nozzles inside), there should be close to no risk of a chimney fire. I think so because there are very few particulates in the exhaust stream because the combustion is pretty much complete. And the exhaust gases are supposed to have relatively low temperatures, around 100 °C (212 °F). As a bonus you don't pollute the air in the neighborhood very much and the exhaust is mainly CO2, not CO.
Love the story! Praise God it worked! Nice shot!!
How about throwing a cup of water in the stove and shut the door? Worked for me. I clean the chimney every 2.5 months during the winter.
We always threw a cup of water in there and the steam put them out . Then you rattle a long chain down your stack to clean it out and boom your good
Soaking wet towel, the steam made puts it out!
❤ DON'T TAKE CHANCES! My great-aunt and her family were killed when a chimney fire exploded before they could get out of the house! Get your chimney cleaned regularly, or just don't use it! Also, Chimfex only works if you have a fireplace door that will keep the oxygen out.
Kiln dried hardwood, after you have the fire lit with good kindling. Old school no dramas.
Exactly, dry hardwood only,and a annual inspection.
Best way to prevent chimney fire imo
Good to know, think I will get a couple and have them on hand
I think it is worth it.
Sounds like a freight train. Scary. we had one in 1977 in upper Michigan.
I use chimney sweep every few weeks. Check k my chimney twice a year.
I'll have to check and research to see what testing NFPA and UL might have done with this product.
@4:04 I like where this is going...🤠
Your not addressing several questions about what if you don’t have doors. Is there something or an idea to have something on hand to cover the fireplace opening?
Maybe your too stupid to pit a board or something to cut off the air supply ,,,this dumb best not to burn ,,I need someone to wipe my butt how do I do that
What if you don’t have doors and just an open fire wood burner ?
Soak a bath towel. Don't worry about dripping on the floor . Throw it over coals and close the door. Run and get another soaked bath towel and throw that one in . Repeat
Then go buy one of the flares and call in the chimney inspector.
It took a long time to get it out of the package you need to preset that near your stove.
Are road flares the same as boat safety flares.
Out date flares would be a good back up !!!
Why does it take 22 seconds to put it out but the video is 10 minutes???
Water in a pressurised spray, even a hand pumped type was good enough when my flue went on fire. Water soon turns to steam and within few squirts spray water the fire was out.
I've had chimney fires before, up to date modern pipes, it will burn itself out. No worries. The new insulated pipes are rated at over 2000'F
I had a chimney some years ago and I was able to drop salt down the chimney and the fire went out at once. One pound of kitchen salt was enough.
Throw a quart of water into fire close door, water expansion quinches fire
If I have an out of control fire in my woodstove, is it SAFE to open the door to add one of these things?
I just dumped water on the burning fireplace logs and hot firebrick in the fireplace. The resulting steam choked out the fire.
Smoke was gushing out of the chimney as though it was being pressurized out.
I keep an open flue, I lose some heat but it keeps my chimney clean
Just have the chimney swept annually and avoid the chimney fire all together.
That is the best option. But it is always good to have a backup.
If you heat your house totally with wood, you should clean your chimney 2 or 3 times each winter and that''s if you are well experienced with what wood to burn and familiar with your stove. if you are new at this, do it more often until you know how often it needs it.
I don't have doors on my fireplace, can i still use it?
We used dry chemical bombs at fire department. We made them by putting dry chemical in ziploc bags and would drop it down the chimney.
Is it possible that the fire could be extinguished in say 19.6 seconds? How about 17 seconds? Has there ever been one that took 25.7 seconds?🤔🤔🤔
NO! 😡🔥 You clearly didn't take notes! Shame! Shame! Shame on you! 22 seconds only. ...... 😂😂🤣😂 Just kidding...
You must ether be an idiot or really board to post a comment like that. What difference does it make if it took 1 second or 30 as long as the fire went out. I see that your in good company as some of your fellow idiots agreed with you.
1/1/24 $35.90 on amazon but still good insurance !!!
My son in law is a firefighter, I’m going to ask if he knows about them.
Thanks
Do you throw it in the box with the damper open or closed.?
Probably open so the non-oxygenated gas overtakes the flame to choke the flame out. That’s my guess anyway.
Excellent video 😁
What do you do if your fire place only has a screens to close, no glass doors?
I had a chimney fire once and I just used the fire extinguisher I dumped the powder fire extinguisher into the fireplace and shut down the damper and the fire went out what you're trying to sell for $25 there is probably nothing but a road flare the last about 30 seconds
In Europe a new law was passed by which all new stoves are obliged to have the Ecodesign2022 , which means all new stoves have double burning which should leave your chimney squeaky clean and chimney fires are a thing of the past.
Great info again. Thank you.
Thank you.
7:03 you’re welcome.
I use a creasolt remover once a week and it turns the creasolt inert.
Thank you so much for the unsolicited commercial. I'm sure TH-cam made money on both ends...😂
Will that flare work in an open fireplace?
This retired fire capt has looked in more chimneys than Santa Clause, the easy way is to throw a cup of water onto the fire and the steam puts the fire out, done it hundreds of times!
I bought my house with a brand new free standing fireplace in the basement still haven't used it 😂
Tractor supply has gofer getters that does the same thing 3 per package
Took over 6min to get to the item they were selling!
7:50 so it won’t work unless I have doors on my fireplace?
We just threw a larg bowl of water in the fireplace, instantly the chimney fire went out!
Do NOT try that with a cast iron wood stove! It WILL crack and might even shatter and dump hit coals all over your hearth
I have a CO2 tank full of gas, I have put out a fire in a popcorn machine by flooding the machine with CO2. Wonder if it would work if I ran the hose into the fireplace and opened the valve full blast, about a 1500 psi blast that will last about five minutes. Definitely would push out the oxygen up the chimney and displace it with CO2.
It is 2024 and this thing cost at Walmart ( Edmonton) $489 for 1 package. Crazy!
Make sure you keep the chimney clean. Ounce of prevention is a pound of cure.
Toss a quart or two of water in fire, standing off to side.
The steam will put chimney fire out quickly.
Know how hot to burn wood in a fireplace helps to! I DO NOT LET THE FLAMES GO UP INTO THE FLUE! I keep the flames down a few inches from the top, It it get up higher i will spray the flames down with water, until it keeps flames where i want them.. That my hottest setting 👉👉 My coldest setting is? A small campfire. where it keeps the chili out of the house.. Plus it don't hurt to spray water into the fire box of a fireplace > all it does is create steam
Will this work even if you don’t have glass doors you can close?
If you only have a fireplace and not a wood stove, I would doubt this would work.