4 facts that you really don't want to verify personally

[frobzwiththingz]

1) Chimney fires are LOUD.

2) They *dont* always self-extinguish when you shut the stove inlets down all the way; the updraft they create can be strong enough to pull in enough air to self-sustain through the pipe baffling. Eit.

3) 2 20' lengths of garden hose is just *barely* enough to get a hose close enough to soak the area of the roof around the chimney outlet.

4) Westford's fire dept' response time is under 3 minutes to our house. [with two ladder trucks, one supervisor truck, one police car. maybe more.] Fire was still going, but at least was no longer looking like i was running a blast furnace inside.

Tomorrow's job: Go up on the roof and clean the chimney.

Edit: to clarify, everything is OK, no damage, thank Ghu. all that is needed is to clean out the chimney tomorrow.

Comments

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

oh, my! You may want to consider getting a professional chimmney sweep (or more appropriate similar professional) to examine your chimney to see if there's been any non-obvious damage to the chimney so your house doesn't inadvertantly burn down. Fires can cause damage that you might not notice, or might say "oh, just another singe mark" and it's actually something quite serious. Professionals can do this much better than the home-fixer-upper person, no matterhow good you are.

I'm glad you survived. Wow!