About your Chimney

Your chimney–and the flue that lines it–may add architectural interest to your home, but their real function is to carry dangerous fireplace, wood stove or furnace* gases and smoke safely out of your home.

A chimney helps your household air stay breathable…just as your windows and your bathroom, attic and kitchen vents do. Unlike those other exhaust points in your home, however, fireplace and wood stove chimneys need a special kind of care. As you snuggle in front of a cozy fire or bask in the warmth of your wood stove, you are taking part in a ritual of comfort and enjoyment handed down though the centuries.

The last thing you are likely to be thinking about is the condition of your chimney. However, if you don’t give some thought to it before you light those winter fires, your enjoyment may be very short-lived. Why? Dirty chimneys can be a fire hazard. Chimney fires can damage structures, destroy homes and injure or kill people.

No One Welcomes a Chimney Fire

A chimney fire in action can be impressive. It has been described variously as creating: . loud cracking and popping noise . a lot of dense smoke, and . an intense, hot smell.

Chimney fires can burn explosively – noisy and dramatic enough to be detected by neighbors or people passing by. Flames or dense smoke may shoot from the top of the chimney.

Homeowners report being startled by a low rumbling sound that reminds them of a freight train or a low flying airplane. However, those are only the chimney fires you know about. Slow-burning chimney fires don’t get enough air or have fuel to be dramatic or visible. But, the temperatures they reach are very high and can cause as much damage to the chimney structure – and nearby combustible parts of the house – as their more spectacular cousins. With proper chimney system care, chimney fires are entirely preventable.

If YOU suffer smoke damage, fire damage, water damage or storm damage, and you live in the Newark, Ohio area, check out this WEBSITE.