CHIMNEY CLEANING ADDED PRECAUTIONS

Chimney cleaning is a fact of For the greatest measure of safety for BURNING life for the wood burner. If you burn yourself and your family, you should install wood, the formation of some creosote one or more approved smoke detectors in is unavoidable. Your chimney should your home. Each family should also practice be cleaned when creosote at any point WOOD reaches 1/4 inch thick. The only way a fire escape plan with two ways out of eve- to tell when this point is reached is to ry room in the house. inspect your chimney. How often you should conduct an inspection SAFELY varies according to many factors. To begin with, make your inspections The use of wood burning stoves bring fairly often. After a time, experience into the home certain dangers associated will tell you how often your flue with the use of wood fuel. These dangers needs to be inspected and cleaned. If can result in serious problems for the you want to become your own chim- unsuspecting home owner. ney sweep, start with the correct tools. Makeshift equipment may Enjoy your wood heat, but damage your chimney. For those remember, the use of wood fuel requires who are not inclined to perform the constant attention to safety practices. inspection and cleaning chore them- selves, professional chimney sweeps are available in most areas. Next to proper installation, proper cleaning is MIAMI VALLEY FIRE DISTRICT the most important wood stove fire 2710 Lyons Rd safety rule. Miamisburg, OH 45342 Fire Headquarters/non-emergency 937-560-2152

www.miamivalleyfiredistrict.org e-mail: ASHES [email protected]

Dispose of ashes carefully. Place them in a metal container with a tight fitting Phone: 937-847-6663 lid. Set the container only on a non- combustible surface. Dispose of the ashes Fax: 937-847-661 only when you are sure they are not still hot. EMERGENCY: 9-1-1 Prepared by: Ransae Lindamood-Hall, Admin. Assistant FIRING YOUR STOVE CHIMNEY FIRES If you do have a chimney fire in spite of Some ash left over from the last your precautions, do these things: fire can be desirable since it acts as a A chimney fire can be a frightening heat reflector in the bottom of the stove. and dangerous experience. A chimney fire  Call 9-1-1 and get everyone out of Crumple a small amount of may produce loud crackling, rumbling, or the house paper and place it in the fire chamber. roaring noises and a red hot stove pipe.  Close the stove door, draft opening Over the paper place kindling wood and These fires can spread to the building itself, and damper to cut off air to the fire a few pieces of small fuel wood. Be causing serious loss, and endangering the  Never throw water on a hot stove sure the damper is open, then light the lives of your family. paper. Once the wood begins to burn Chimney fires are caused when CRE- A chimney fire may damage parts of the well and a good draft has been created, OSOTE, a normal by-product of burning chimney or stove pipe. Be sure to have larger pieces of wood may be used. wood, collects on the inside of the chimney an inspection made of your entire system and is ignited. The causes of creosote before you use it again. buildup are listed below: SECLECTING WOOD TO BURN NEVER: CREOSOTE FORMATION: One important

 Use flammable liquids to light a factor in preventing  Flue temperature below 250 degrees fire. creosote buildup is allows creosote to condense.  Store flammable liquids in an area using only dry,  Slow burning, smoldering fires cause where a stove is being used. seasoned wood. To creosote buildup.  Burn trash, large amounts of paper, be seasoned, wood must have been cut  Burning unseasoned soft wood causes or small twigs. and dried six to twelve months or longer creosote accumulation.  “Over Fire” so that the stove pipe depending on the kind of wood. If you becomes “Red Hot”. cut your own wood, cut well in advance  Leave the doors open or screen off of the time of use. Give the wood time except to fuel the fire. REDUCE CREOSOTE BUILDUP to dry and become seasoned before use.

 Dry clothing closer than three feet If you buy the wood you will be to the stove. These steps will help limit creosote buildup: using, shop around. Buy the driest wood

 Leave small children in a room you can find. Dry wood looks and feels where a wood stove is in use.  Burn only dry, seasoned wood. different than green wood. A stick of  Avoid slow burning, smoky fires. dry wood weighs less. The end of the  Have your chimney inspected, and if stick may have cracks radiating from the necessary, cleaned periodically. center. Green wood does not have this appearance. Remember that dry wood is not only safer to burn, it is also more economical because it produces more continued usable heat.