Feedback: More on Chimney Fires

Paul Stevens shares feedback and fire safety tips on the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Stovepipe Power article after experiencing a chimney fire in his own home.

By Paul Stevens
September/October 1975

Chimey fire in fireplace
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Cook states that the wood of coniferous trees will leave flue-clogging residues when burned, and one of the firemen from the local volunteer fire department warned us that green hardwood fuel will also cause dangerous deposits.
PHOTO: FOTOLIA/W DOERING
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MOTHER EARTH NEWS NO. 31 got here early on a Monday, but it was late in the evening before I had a chance to sit down and read the issue . . . and when I saw page 30 — the one with Sherman S. Cook's feedback on A. Michael Wassil's "Stovepipe Power" — I laughed so hard I had to put the magazine down.

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You see, the reason I hadn't been able to got to MOTHER earlier that day was the raging chimney fire we had in our chimney. "Such a blaze goes like a blowtorch," says Cook. You'd better believe it! I learned a lot about mishaps of that kind in just a few hours, and I thought I'd pass along some of the info I picked up.

Cook states that the wood of coniferous trees will leave flue-clogging residues when burned, and one of the firemen from the local volunteer fire department warned us that green hardwood fuel will also cause dangerous deposits. The same follow told me he'd once visited a garage that was being kept warm by a wood stove, and seen a chimney fire extinguished by a quick thinking mechanic. Seems the workman noticed that the pipe was glowing an unhealthy red, filled a bucket with water, and pried the column of hot metal loose from the heater. With the pipe gripped between two sticks, he lifted the pipe free and into the pail so that the opening was almost submerged. The smaller air intake forced the velocity of the updraft to increase . . . and the upward rush of gases carried with it a fine spray of water which was sufficient to put the fire out.

Old Bill Shildroth from down the road dropped by today with some useful advice on the same subject: "You just take your Pyrene extinguisher, pull the lid off the stove, and give her a shot. That'll blow a chimney fire right out. The chemicals got sucked straight up the pipe and them flames'll die fast."

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