Had a chimney fire last Tuesday - I'll never skip a sweep again

I was working on a routine flue cleaning at this old house in Oakwood, went out to grab a brush from my truck, and came back to find smoke pouring from the roof. Turns out the homeowner had been burning unseasoned pine and the creosote buildup caught mid-job. Has anyone else had a close call like that on a job?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia26212d agoMost Upvoted

I read that creosote can ignite at just 451 degrees. Scary stuff.

margaretramirez12d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that's terrifying... I gotta be honest, I used to be one of those people who'd put off chimney sweeps, thought it was just a money grab or something. Hearing a story like yours really shifted my view, seeing how fast it can go wrong even when you're trying to do the right thing. That creosote buildup is no joke, especially with softwoods. Glad you caught it before the whole place went up.

phoenix_lewis12d ago

Hang on a sec, @margaretramirez. I gotta push back a little here. In my experience, a lot of those chimney sweep horror stories are exactly that - stories meant to scare you into paying for a service you might not need right now. I've had my own fireplace for over ten years, burned everything from pine to oak, and never had a creosote issue that turned dangerous. If you're burning dry, seasoned wood and cleaning out your firebox regularly, you can usually spot the problem areas yourself without shelling out a hundred bucks every season. Your mileage may vary of course, but I think the industry makes it sound way scarier than it really is for the average homeowner.