Rant: I was reading an old trade journal from 1987 and found out that a single chimney fire can reach temperatures over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.

I found that stat in a dusty copy of 'The Sweep's Journal' at a used bookstore in Boise, which makes you think about how fast things can go wrong, doesn't it?

3 comments

3 Comments

blaker753d ago

Hang on, 2000 degrees? That can't be right for a standard chimney fire, can it? I mean, I knew they got hot, but that's like nearly the melting point of steel. @diana_bell74 mentioned a house burning down from a "clean" chimney last winter, and that makes a little more sense now if that kind of heat is actually possible. Still blows my mind that a little buildup can create that kind of furnace in your wall.

diana_bell741mo ago

Modern liners fail all the time. Saw a house in the next town lose everything last winter from a "clean" chimney. That heat is still there waiting if something goes wrong. Complacency is what causes disasters, not old stats.

angela_wilson781mo ago

My uncle was a firefighter in Toledo for thirty years. He always said chimney fires look scary but are often contained. Modern liners and regular cleaning make that extreme heat really rare. People focus on the worst case without seeing how safe things are now. I've had a wood stove for a decade with zero issues because I get it swept each fall. That old journal stat is just fear mongering from a different time.