So anecdotal story , we HAD a woodburning fireplace in the last house, cleaning up my last workshop I had some big blocks of 1 1/2" thich MDF , I had been making molds . I'm thinking it burns hot , but not atomic hot , so into the fireplace it goes. Kaboom , flames are shooting up the chimney and it has the distinct roar you only get from a raging chimney fire. I dash outside and yet , flames 2ft tall out of the chimney.
Dash back inside and its hot, then the damper sufficiantly overheats , warps, slams shut. Its getting really smoky in the family room , I grab the fire poker and reaching in jam open the damper , but only seconds its getting hot. My 10yr old daughter runs to the kitchen and comes back with big oven mitts , ok mitts on, now i can hold the poker and keep the damper open. Oy vey, just an FYI those mitts are fire retardant , not fireproof, now my mitts are smouldering so I says to my daughter , the game is almost over , grab the extinguiers from the garage and lets be done here , she unloads 10kgs of dry chemical into my right ear. Fire rages on, I'd been drinking a beer so plan B was shake up the beer and see it the combo of beer turning into steam would kill the chimney fire and shazam it mostly gets it under control.
We commence to opening windows upstairs and can hear the distant whail of sirens, my fine nieghbor saw smoke fire coming out of tghe chimney and when i didnt answer the phone called the big red truck. I couldnt answer the phone, I was on fire.
Truck arrives , we thank them for thier diligence amnd after a cursory inspection and susequent lecture , I begin the vaccuum 10kgs of dry chem which travels further than drywall dust. @ yrs later you could paly the piano and see a faint cloud.
Wife ordered a gas fireplace insert and had it installed 2 days later when i was at work.
