Wednesday, February 18, 2015

FIREFIGHTERS USED CHEMICAL TO STOP CHICOPEE CREOSOTE CHIMNEY FIRE DUE TO THE HEAVY BUILT UP OF CREOSOTE. CHIMNEYS MUST BE CLEANED AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR TO PREVENT CHIMNEY FIRES.




FEBRUARY 16, 2015
 



CHICOPEE, MASS. (WWLP) – 

Chicopee firefighters were able to put out a dangerous chimney fire Monday night before it caused extensive damage to a century-old house in Chicopee Falls.




Acting Deputy Chicopee Fire Chief Wayne Lemay told 22News there were flames shooting out of the chimney at 356 Grove Street when his crews arrived at 7:00 p.m. Monday.




Deputy Lemay said the firefighters reached the chimney on a platform extended from a ladder truck. They extinguished the fire by pouring chemicals down the flue. He said water would have damaged the flue.




There was some smoke damage to the house, but the occupants will be able to stay there. Grove Street was closed to traffic for about an hour.




Deputy Lemay told 22News chimney fires develop when creosote builds up in the flue. “People stoke their fires in this very cold weather, and the fire ignites the creosote,” Lemay said. “On a cold night like this, the flue lights up, and Boom!  It sounds like a freight train.”




The super-heated flue can transfer the heat or a leaked flame to surrounding wooden framing in the attic. In this scenario, a home could catch fire.




Deputy Lemay advises homeowners to have their chimney’s professionally cleaned twice per year to avoid chimney fires.  Lemay said the Grove Street chimney hadn’t been cleaned in a year.  The home was built in the late 1800’s, according to the owner.  Lemay said older homes have flues made with a brick lining, which are more susceptible to leak flames to surrounding wood framework in a chimney fire.  Modern flues are made from ceramic material or stainless steel.




Lemay said the cold weather caused problems retracting that platform ladder.


Creosote deposits may be removed by using a stiff chimney brush if the deposits are sooty in character. This is the easiest and best condition to handle.
Creosote deposits that are glazed and hard on the chimney walls can be difficult to remove by may be removable using a powered mechanical brush.

Creosote deposits that are sticky, oozy, "gummy" are very difficult to remove without a chemical treatment - chimney cleaning chemicals are not recommended by the CSIA.

The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), a non-profit, educational institution focused on the prevention of chimney and venting hazards, is concerned about the consumer use of chemical chimney cleaning products to the exclusion of conventional chimney inspections and cleaning. These products often are promoted for their ability to remove a portion of the creosote from a masonry or metal chimney interior through catalytic action when burned in a fireplace or wood stove.

The CSIA believes that the use of these products alone is not an adequate substitute for mechanical chimney cleaning and inspection because it does not provide the same level of protection to the chimney system. Current promotional claims for some of the products may be creating a false sense of security among consumers.

We have observed that a "gummy" creosote deposit may harden when the chimney dries or is (carefully) heated.