If a fireplace is not cleared out after about every 50 fires, the chance to spark a chimney fire that spreads to the entire house greatly increases.
AUSTIN, Texas — With all the cold weather starting up, many people may be lighting fires to stay warm. Before you do, it’s important to make sure it’s completely cleared out first.
Charles Fisk, the owner and manager of Area Wide Chimney Sweep, has been cleaning chimneys for more than 30 years in Austin. He says about every 50 fires, your chimney should be cleaned.
“That’s enough creosote in the chimney to cause a chimney fire,” Fisk said.
That’s where his company comes in, with his Viper machine, which shoots a brush up the chimney and clears out all of the soot. According to Fisk, this should be done more often than 50 fires if you’re using your fireplace for long periods, especially during winter storms.
“We just came through a real big ice storm in 2021, and people used their fireplaces a lot … some people used it 24 hours a day because they didn’t have electricity,” Fisk said. “Some of them forgot to clean it after they used it so much and they had a chimney fire.”
If a chimney is covered with creosote, which is the black soot in the fireplace, it prevents the flow of smoke in the chimney and can spark a house fire rapidly. Besides frequent chimney cleaning, Fisk recommends not keeping anything flammable within 5 feet of the fireplace and making sure you’re watching the top of the flames.
While the bottom portion of the fireplace is designed to withhold about 2,000 degrees, Fisk said further up the chimney, is only designed for about 400-500 degrees. So if those flames travel higher, it could also spark a fire.
If a fire does start, Fisk said the most important thing is to call 911 first, then immediately shut the damper on the fireplace. That way, you cut off the oxygen supply of the fire by blocking more air out of there.
Another large culprit of house fires Fisk has found, is dryer vents getting clogged up.
“The dryer vent fires are more common in Austin than chimney fires,” Fisk said.
Depending on how many people are in the household, and how often they use the dryer, Fisk said the dryer vent should be cleaned out every one to three years. If the dryer starts to not dry the clothes completely, that’s a telltale sign that the dryer vent may be clogged.