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A talk with a fire marshal in Rochester made me double-check my creosote gauge
He told me he's seeing a lot of chimney fires this year from people who thought they had 'just a little' buildup. Said one house on Elm Street had a fire from a quarter inch of glazed creosote they thought was safe. I've been trusting my old gauge for years, but now I'm wondering if it's reading light. Anyone else had to recalibrate their tools lately?
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reeseanderson5mo ago
Hold on, that part about throwing your gauge out worries me. The gauge itself is probably fine, it's just a metal ruler. The problem is reading it wrong. You have to poke at the creosote to see if it's the fluffy kind or that shiny, hard glaze. A quarter inch of the fluffy stuff is maybe okay for a bit, but that same thickness of glaze is like fuel waiting for a spark. Are you checking for the type, or just the depth?
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wendy_clark6mo ago
A quarter inch of glazed creosote started a fire on Elm Street. That's basically nothing, and it still went up. I'm throwing my old gauge out tomorrow.
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