Gele Sweep

North Wales chimney sweep services based in Abergele

FIRE SERVICE: CHIMNEY FIRE SAFETY ADVICE

There are approximately 7,000 chimney fires a year in the UK

The most common causes of chimney fires are: 

Improper appliance sizing

Burning unseasoned wet wood

Infrequent sweeping and cleaning

Overnight burning or smouldering wood for long periods in wood stoves

Fire service tips to reduce the risk of chimney fire.

Chimneys must be swept on a regular basis. This can be as much as three times in the burning season (winter) but at least once per season regardless of fuel type.

All wood burned must have a moisture content of no more than 17 percent.

It is important to purchase the correct size appliance for your room. An appliance which is too large will never be used hot enough to volatize all of the fuel within the wood and unburned fuel will pass up the chimney as smoke and condense within the flue as extremely flammable creosote.

To minimize creosote production in a wood stove these steps can be followed:

Once the fuel load has been ignited and the flue has been heated to its operating temperature, the stoves air supply should be adjusted to limit the amount of air to avoid over firing and excessive heat loss up the chimney. They should, however, be open enough to maintain moderate flaming combustion in the fire box. (The flames should fill the entire window or fire box without being sucked up the chimney).

To determine if this is maintained the condition of the fire should be checked through any glass panels and the density of the smoke as it exits the flue at the top should also be checked.

An internal probe type thermometer located within the flue can be used to ascertain if flue temperatures are of a sufficient temperature or if they are excessive, magnetic flue temperature thermometers can also be utilised to this end.

It is important when using a multi fuel stove that you control the burning of the appliance by the air inlets provided for this purpose not using any dampers which could obstruct the safe passage of exhaust from being able to exit the appliance.

Remember a blocked flue can kill and the exclusion of air will put out a fire.

All chimneys and flue-ways should be cleaned and checked during the summer months to ensure they are free from debris and in full working order before the heating season. A blocked or defective chimney can cause both chimney fires and carbon monoxide poisonings so it's very important to employ a professional qualified Chimney Sweep