So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday - a
bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. That's a very different
smell, for those who don't know about wood burning.
I got up and looked all through the house in the area of the woodstove
and the chimney, and found nothing at all out of order. Went outside
and looked up to my chimney and my roof - same thing...nothing out of order.
Went back inside and looked around again. Tried to understand if I was
even really smelling what I thought I had smelled. Sure enough - the
smell of burning lumber.
Side note - this is a problematic smell when one lives in a log home!
Went back outside and walked further down the driveway to get a better
angle to look up at the roof and the chimney. Then I saw it - sparks
showering up out of my chimney.
I've been in many house fires over the years as a volunteer fireman, and
as a Chief. (No longer active in fire service). I'm very familiar with
chimney fires, and they typically have a characteristic sound which is
often likened to the sound of a freight train. Certainly a very loud
and very pronounced sound. The problem is - I had no sounds at all.
I keep a very clean chimney and I burn only well seasoned hardwood and I
burn my stove hot twice a day to keep it creosote free. The only
creosote my chimney ever sees is the dry, flakey type and not the
dripping sort of creosote. This was not making sense to me as I
investigated.
Finally opened the door to go down into the basement (which I had not
previously investigated). Oh my God! Could not see the bottom of the
basement stairs for all of the smoke. Became really concerned for
introducing oxygen into a potentially explosive environment, but I'd
already opened the door, so if something was going to flash over, it
would have by the time I realized what I was facing.
Made my way down the stairs and could not see a thing except for an
orange glow at the base of my chimney where the cleanout is located, and
of course the sound of fire. Made my way over to that point and saw the
fire working in the cleanout and extending up the partition that
surrounds the chimney.
Made my way up to the garage where I keep a commercial fire extinguisher
due to the kinds of work I do out in the garage. Brought it down and
hit the fire. Knocked the seat of the fire down almost immediately.
Still had fire happening due to the extension into the partition, but
went back upstairs and called 911. Waited for years for the first fire
guy to show up, who was a chief. We both went down to the basement and
between his extinguisher and mine, we hit a couple more areas where it
seemed we could further knock down any fire.
Fire trucks showed up and stretched a hose through my garage, my kitchen
and down into the basement. I lost it (I really fucking lost it!) at
that point and heard myself begging them not to charge that hose! Just
did not want to imagine or experience everything associated with an 1
3/4" fire hose at 150psi inside my house.
Well, in the end they did not charge the hose, and were able to minimize
the damage by simply stripping off the partition surrounding the
chimney, taking all of the framing, etc. outside and to ensure that the
fire was out. Absolutely minimal damage, all things considered. The
bearing beam is charred somewhat but it is constructed of 5 2x10's and
the charring is not even really all that deep. Floor joists escaped any
real fire impingement. Could have been so much worse! Another 10
minutes and it would certainly have been much worse - a totally
different outcome.
The house was a mess after they left, from so many firemen traipsing
through and it looked absolutely horrible. But it was still standing
and really - hardly the worse for wear. Kids came up yesterday and did
a really bang up job doing cleanup. Cleanup is not really done yet but
at least things look more like normal.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
On 3/5/2016 2:14 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>
> No smoke detectors ? !
>
> ... it's the law here - at least one per floor.
>
> John T.
>
I would hope he did. Last Sunday i went to the funeral of a guy that
did not have any. Space heater started the fire and it burned he beyond
recognition.
Make sure yours are working too.
On 3/5/2016 1:43 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
> Made my way up to the garage where I keep a commercial fire extinguisher
> due to the kinds of work I do out in the garage. Brought it down and
> hit the fire. Knocked the seat of the fire down almost immediately.
> Still had fire happening due to the extension into the partition, but
> went back upstairs and called 911. Waited for years for the first fire
> guy to show up, who was a chief. We both went down to the basement and
> between his extinguisher and mine, we hit a couple more areas where it
> seemed we could further knock down any fire.
>
> The house was a mess after they left, from so many firemen traipsing
> through and it looked absolutely horrible. But it was still standing
> and really - hardly the worse for wear. Kids came up yesterday and did
> a really bang up job doing cleanup. Cleanup is not really done yet but
> at least things look more like normal.
>
Good thing you had the extinguisher. You have my sympathy. I've been
through one residential and two industrial fires so I now what will
happen now.
On Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 1:43:28 PM UTC-5, Mike Marlow wrote:
> So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday - a
> bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
> Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
> stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. That's a very different
> smell, for those who don't know about wood burning.
>
> I got up and looked all through the house in the area of the woodstove
> and the chimney, and found nothing at all out of order. Went outside
> and looked up to my chimney and my roof - same thing...nothing out of order.
>
> Went back inside and looked around again. Tried to understand if I was
> even really smelling what I thought I had smelled. Sure enough - the
> smell of burning lumber.
>
> Side note - this is a problematic smell when one lives in a log home!
>
> Went back outside and walked further down the driveway to get a better
> angle to look up at the roof and the chimney. Then I saw it - sparks
> showering up out of my chimney.
>
> I've been in many house fires over the years as a volunteer fireman, and
> as a Chief. (No longer active in fire service). I'm very familiar with
> chimney fires, and they typically have a characteristic sound which is
> often likened to the sound of a freight train. Certainly a very loud
> and very pronounced sound. The problem is - I had no sounds at all.
>
> I keep a very clean chimney and I burn only well seasoned hardwood and I
> burn my stove hot twice a day to keep it creosote free. The only
> creosote my chimney ever sees is the dry, flakey type and not the
> dripping sort of creosote. This was not making sense to me as I
> investigated.
>
> Finally opened the door to go down into the basement (which I had not
> previously investigated). Oh my God! Could not see the bottom of the
> basement stairs for all of the smoke. Became really concerned for
> introducing oxygen into a potentially explosive environment, but I'd
> already opened the door, so if something was going to flash over, it
> would have by the time I realized what I was facing.
>
> Made my way down the stairs and could not see a thing except for an
> orange glow at the base of my chimney where the cleanout is located, and
> of course the sound of fire. Made my way over to that point and saw the
> fire working in the cleanout and extending up the partition that
> surrounds the chimney.
>
> Made my way up to the garage where I keep a commercial fire extinguisher
> due to the kinds of work I do out in the garage. Brought it down and
> hit the fire. Knocked the seat of the fire down almost immediately.
> Still had fire happening due to the extension into the partition, but
> went back upstairs and called 911. Waited for years for the first fire
> guy to show up, who was a chief. We both went down to the basement and
> between his extinguisher and mine, we hit a couple more areas where it
> seemed we could further knock down any fire.
>
> Fire trucks showed up and stretched a hose through my garage, my kitchen
> and down into the basement. I lost it (I really fucking lost it!) at
> that point and heard myself begging them not to charge that hose! Just
> did not want to imagine or experience everything associated with an 1
> 3/4" fire hose at 150psi inside my house.
>
> Well, in the end they did not charge the hose, and were able to minimize
> the damage by simply stripping off the partition surrounding the
> chimney, taking all of the framing, etc. outside and to ensure that the
> fire was out. Absolutely minimal damage, all things considered. The
> bearing beam is charred somewhat but it is constructed of 5 2x10's and
> the charring is not even really all that deep. Floor joists escaped any
> real fire impingement. Could have been so much worse! Another 10
> minutes and it would certainly have been much worse - a totally
> different outcome.
>
> The house was a mess after they left, from so many firemen traipsing
> through and it looked absolutely horrible. But it was still standing
> and really - hardly the worse for wear. Kids came up yesterday and did
> a really bang up job doing cleanup. Cleanup is not really done yet but
> at least things look more like normal.
>
Hey! Glad to hear it worked out as well as it did. Make sure you get
that extinguisher recharged/replaced ASAP. Maybe buy a few more. ;-)
Any idea what caused the clean out to catch fire?
I've only been involved with one fire, many years ago in the USCG when
the 15 KV-DC power supply for our LORAN transmitter caught fire. Two
techs, a lot more senior than I was, started running around yelling
"Get out! Everybody out!" (there was only the 3 of us in the T-Bldg).
As they were heading for the door, I walked over to the main disconnect
for the unit, shut it down, grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out
the fire. I then walked over to the standby transmitter, brought it
up and switch it to on-air. I think we were off-air for maybe 3-4
minutes.
I was later "formally" reprimanded for not following procedures by
leaving the building and "informally" praised for preventing major
damage and getting us back on air within minutes. The senior techs
were pissed (read: embarrassed) so the CO put on a bit of a show,
reading me the riot act with half a smile on his face the whole time.
Anyway, I'm glad everyone made out OK in your case. Now go get that
fire extinguisher recharged! ;-)
"dadiOH" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Mike Marlow wrote:
>> So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday
>> - a bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
>> Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
>> stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. That's a very different
>> smell, for those who don't know about wood burning.
>
> You have a good nose. I'm glad you do,
>
My sentiment as well. Your sniffer saved your ass. Good on ya. A good
nose can be a real asset.
Having gone through all of this, is there anything you can do in terms of
repairs, modifications, etc. to guarantee this sort of thing does not happen
again?
On 3/7/2016 11:54 AM, Mike Marlow wrote:
> 3) In the nicer weather, I have decided to install a stainless chimney
> liner. My flue is 8" and today's stoves are only 6" stacks. That means
> my chimney is mis-matched to my stove and it's normal draft will
> over-cool my chimney gases. This results in creosote buildups that are
> undesirable. Installing a 6" stainless liner will fix this issue. I
> will be going with a smooth wall liner.
Based on the above, it's a good bet Jenny Craig already has spam heading
to the North Pole. ;)
--
eWoodShop: www.eWoodShop.com
Wood Shop: www.e-WoodShop.net
https://www.google.com/+eWoodShop
https://plus.google.com/+KarlCaillouet/posts
http://www.custommade.com/by/ewoodshop/
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)
On 3/5/2016 4:19 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
> Leon wrote:
>>
>>
>> Wow Mike what a story. I'm certainty glad your nose was working and you
>> were persistent in locating the fire before there was a lot of damage.
>> And more importantly no one was harmed.
>>
>> But, did your DC explode? ;~)
>
> Nope - I did not even have one - let alone a ground in it!
>
>
;~) Seriously though I'm glad you caught it when you did, obviously not
as much as your are.
On 3/5/2016 1:43 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
> So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday - a
> bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
> Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
> stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. That's a very different
> smell, for those who don't know about wood burning.
>
> I got up and looked all through the house in the area of the woodstove
> and the chimney, and found nothing at all out of order. Went outside
> and looked up to my chimney and my roof - same thing...nothing out of
> order.
>
> Went back inside and looked around again. Tried to understand if I was
> even really smelling what I thought I had smelled. Sure enough - the
> smell of burning lumber.
>
> Side note - this is a problematic smell when one lives in a log home!
>
> Went back outside and walked further down the driveway to get a better
> angle to look up at the roof and the chimney. Then I saw it - sparks
> showering up out of my chimney.
>
> I've been in many house fires over the years as a volunteer fireman, and
> as a Chief. (No longer active in fire service). I'm very familiar with
> chimney fires, and they typically have a characteristic sound which is
> often likened to the sound of a freight train. Certainly a very loud
> and very pronounced sound. The problem is - I had no sounds at all.
>
> I keep a very clean chimney and I burn only well seasoned hardwood and I
> burn my stove hot twice a day to keep it creosote free. The only
> creosote my chimney ever sees is the dry, flakey type and not the
> dripping sort of creosote. This was not making sense to me as I
> investigated.
>
> Finally opened the door to go down into the basement (which I had not
> previously investigated). Oh my God! Could not see the bottom of the
> basement stairs for all of the smoke. Became really concerned for
> introducing oxygen into a potentially explosive environment, but I'd
> already opened the door, so if something was going to flash over, it
> would have by the time I realized what I was facing.
>
> Made my way down the stairs and could not see a thing except for an
> orange glow at the base of my chimney where the cleanout is located, and
> of course the sound of fire. Made my way over to that point and saw the
> fire working in the cleanout and extending up the partition that
> surrounds the chimney.
>
> Made my way up to the garage where I keep a commercial fire extinguisher
> due to the kinds of work I do out in the garage. Brought it down and
> hit the fire. Knocked the seat of the fire down almost immediately.
> Still had fire happening due to the extension into the partition, but
> went back upstairs and called 911. Waited for years for the first fire
> guy to show up, who was a chief. We both went down to the basement and
> between his extinguisher and mine, we hit a couple more areas where it
> seemed we could further knock down any fire.
>
> Fire trucks showed up and stretched a hose through my garage, my kitchen
> and down into the basement. I lost it (I really fucking lost it!) at
> that point and heard myself begging them not to charge that hose! Just
> did not want to imagine or experience everything associated with an 1
> 3/4" fire hose at 150psi inside my house.
>
> Well, in the end they did not charge the hose, and were able to minimize
> the damage by simply stripping off the partition surrounding the
> chimney, taking all of the framing, etc. outside and to ensure that the
> fire was out. Absolutely minimal damage, all things considered. The
> bearing beam is charred somewhat but it is constructed of 5 2x10's and
> the charring is not even really all that deep. Floor joists escaped any
> real fire impingement. Could have been so much worse! Another 10
> minutes and it would certainly have been much worse - a totally
> different outcome.
>
> The house was a mess after they left, from so many firemen traipsing
> through and it looked absolutely horrible. But it was still standing
> and really - hardly the worse for wear. Kids came up yesterday and did
> a really bang up job doing cleanup. Cleanup is not really done yet but
> at least things look more like normal.
>
Man that was a close one.
Glad all was not lost.
Especially with all that firewood on your porch. We would have been
roasting marshmellow's over here in NJ.
:-0
I'm impressed you had enough time to run up and get the fire
extinguisher start to knock it down, THEN CALLED the FD
--
Jeff
Mike Marlow <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday -
> a bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
> Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
> stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. That's a very different
> smell, for those who don't know about wood burning.
>
> I got up and looked all through the house in the area of the woodstove
> and the chimney, and found nothing at all out of order. Went outside
> and looked up to my chimney and my roof - same thing...nothing out of
> order.
>
> Went back inside and looked around again. Tried to understand if I
> was even really smelling what I thought I had smelled. Sure enough -
> the smell of burning lumber.
>
> Side note - this is a problematic smell when one lives in a log home!
>
> Went back outside and walked further down the driveway to get a better
> angle to look up at the roof and the chimney. Then I saw it - sparks
> showering up out of my chimney.
>
> I've been in many house fires over the years as a volunteer fireman,
> and as a Chief. (No longer active in fire service). I'm very familiar
> with chimney fires, and they typically have a characteristic sound
> which is often likened to the sound of a freight train. Certainly a
> very loud and very pronounced sound. The problem is - I had no sounds
> at all.
>
> I keep a very clean chimney and I burn only well seasoned hardwood and
> I burn my stove hot twice a day to keep it creosote free. The only
> creosote my chimney ever sees is the dry, flakey type and not the
> dripping sort of creosote. This was not making sense to me as I
> investigated.
>
> Finally opened the door to go down into the basement (which I had not
> previously investigated). Oh my God! Could not see the bottom of the
> basement stairs for all of the smoke. Became really concerned for
> introducing oxygen into a potentially explosive environment, but I'd
> already opened the door, so if something was going to flash over, it
> would have by the time I realized what I was facing.
>
> Made my way down the stairs and could not see a thing except for an
> orange glow at the base of my chimney where the cleanout is located,
> and of course the sound of fire. Made my way over to that point and
> saw the fire working in the cleanout and extending up the partition
> that surrounds the chimney.
>
> Made my way up to the garage where I keep a commercial fire
> extinguisher due to the kinds of work I do out in the garage. Brought
> it down and hit the fire. Knocked the seat of the fire down almost
> immediately. Still had fire happening due to the extension into the
> partition, but went back upstairs and called 911. Waited for years
> for the first fire guy to show up, who was a chief. We both went down
> to the basement and between his extinguisher and mine, we hit a couple
> more areas where it seemed we could further knock down any fire.
>
> Fire trucks showed up and stretched a hose through my garage, my
> kitchen and down into the basement. I lost it (I really fucking lost
> it!) at that point and heard myself begging them not to charge that
> hose! Just did not want to imagine or experience everything
> associated with an 1 3/4" fire hose at 150psi inside my house.
>
> Well, in the end they did not charge the hose, and were able to
> minimize the damage by simply stripping off the partition surrounding
> the chimney, taking all of the framing, etc. outside and to ensure
> that the fire was out. Absolutely minimal damage, all things
> considered. The bearing beam is charred somewhat but it is
> constructed of 5 2x10's and the charring is not even really all that
> deep. Floor joists escaped any real fire impingement. Could have
> been so much worse! Another 10 minutes and it would certainly have
> been much worse - a totally different outcome.
>
> The house was a mess after they left, from so many firemen traipsing
> through and it looked absolutely horrible. But it was still standing
> and really - hardly the worse for wear. Kids came up yesterday and
> did a really bang up job doing cleanup. Cleanup is not really done
> yet but at least things look more like normal.
>
Wow. Glad you're OK Mike, that could have been really serious.
Glad the house is OK too.
John
On 3/5/2016 7:16 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
> We had a similar experience but had no structural damage. I heard the
> freight train, and went out side and saw the sparks coming from the
> chimney. I told my wife to call the fire department and get the girls
> out of the house. I found the hose that I had put away for the winter,
> and attached it to the outside faucet. It took several years for the
> water to come through the empty hose. When it did I directed the stream
> of water to the top of the chimney, and had it out by the time the
> fireman arrived. As I said we had not damage, but I was several years
> older
An aside comment, There was a remark about smoke alarms. With a
chimney fire the bulk of the fire is contained in the chimney and things
exit the top. Sometimes they set the roof on fire. They will not set
off inside smoke alarms until it is much too late.
Mike was fortunate to be aware and smart enough to properly investigate
before more damage occurred.
On 3/5/2016 12:43 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
> Fire trucks showed up and stretched a hose through my garage, my kitchen
> and down into the basement. I lost it (I really fucking lost it!) at
> that point and heard myself begging them not to charge that hose! Just
> did not want to imagine or experience everything associated with an 1
> 3/4" fire hose at 150psi inside my house.
First off ... sorry for the misfortune, but so very damned glad you
caught it in time, Mike! ... and had the presence of mind to handle it
like you did.
Experienced a similar incident when our youngest daughter was about four
and we lived in the old house we eventually lost in the TS Allison flood
in 2001.
She came running to me as I working in the garage, around 1:30 one
afternoon, exclaiming "Daddy the lights in the living room are so pretty!"
WTF?
Ran into the living room to see flames actually coming out of a
receptacle in a scorched wall. Long story short, some asshat had wired a
receptacle from one wall to the opposite wall with lamp cord and
electrical tape, probably 40 years before, and it finally shorted out on
that particular day.
Like you, I was instantly reluctant to call the fire department, knowing
they would do as much damage as possible under the circumstances to
preclude any liability on their part.
Knowing what life would be like after they left, I made sure my daughter
was safely outside where I could see her through a window/turning off
the electricity on the way to getting her safely out; went back in and
literally kicked out the drywall to expose the burning framing.
My wife's clothes sprinkler, of all things, was the closest thing with
water in it at hand to start with ... it doused the flames just enough
for me to make it to the fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
Kicked some more drywall on both sides used the fire extinguisher, and
soaked those tubafours good with water, using that damned clothes
sprinkler, until I was pretty sure all danger was over.
I say "pretty sure", because I literally stayed up all that night
keeping watch over the area and my sleeping wife and child, just in case.
All the while thinking how lucky we were that it had not happen at 1:30
AM, as our daughter's bedroom was on the other side of the house from
ours, and that living room was in between.
Faced all kinds of danger in my life, but this really shook me, and I
still shudder when I think about what could have been.
Again, thanking whoever it is that watched over us, was doing the same
for you.
--
eWoodShop: www.eWoodShop.com
Wood Shop: www.e-WoodShop.net
https://www.google.com/+eWoodShop
https://plus.google.com/+KarlCaillouet/posts
http://www.custommade.com/by/ewoodshop/
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)
On Sat, 5 Mar 2016 13:43:34 -0500, Mike Marlow
<[email protected]> wrote:
>So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday - a
>bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
>Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
>stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. That's a very different
>smell, for those who don't know about wood burning.
>
>I got up and looked all through the house in the area of the woodstove
>and the chimney, and found nothing at all out of order. Went outside
>and looked up to my chimney and my roof - same thing...nothing out of order.
>
>Went back inside and looked around again. Tried to understand if I was
>even really smelling what I thought I had smelled. Sure enough - the
>smell of burning lumber.
>
>Side note - this is a problematic smell when one lives in a log home!
>
>Went back outside and walked further down the driveway to get a better
>angle to look up at the roof and the chimney. Then I saw it - sparks
>showering up out of my chimney.
>
>I've been in many house fires over the years as a volunteer fireman, and
>as a Chief. (No longer active in fire service). I'm very familiar with
>chimney fires, and they typically have a characteristic sound which is
>often likened to the sound of a freight train. Certainly a very loud
>and very pronounced sound. The problem is - I had no sounds at all.
>
>I keep a very clean chimney and I burn only well seasoned hardwood and I
>burn my stove hot twice a day to keep it creosote free. The only
>creosote my chimney ever sees is the dry, flakey type and not the
>dripping sort of creosote. This was not making sense to me as I
>investigated.
>
>Finally opened the door to go down into the basement (which I had not
>previously investigated). Oh my God! Could not see the bottom of the
>basement stairs for all of the smoke. Became really concerned for
>introducing oxygen into a potentially explosive environment, but I'd
>already opened the door, so if something was going to flash over, it
>would have by the time I realized what I was facing.
>
>Made my way down the stairs and could not see a thing except for an
>orange glow at the base of my chimney where the cleanout is located, and
>of course the sound of fire. Made my way over to that point and saw the
>fire working in the cleanout and extending up the partition that
>surrounds the chimney.
>
>Made my way up to the garage where I keep a commercial fire extinguisher
>due to the kinds of work I do out in the garage. Brought it down and
>hit the fire. Knocked the seat of the fire down almost immediately.
>Still had fire happening due to the extension into the partition, but
>went back upstairs and called 911. Waited for years for the first fire
>guy to show up, who was a chief. We both went down to the basement and
>between his extinguisher and mine, we hit a couple more areas where it
>seemed we could further knock down any fire.
>
>Fire trucks showed up and stretched a hose through my garage, my kitchen
>and down into the basement. I lost it (I really fucking lost it!) at
>that point and heard myself begging them not to charge that hose! Just
>did not want to imagine or experience everything associated with an 1
>3/4" fire hose at 150psi inside my house.
>
>Well, in the end they did not charge the hose, and were able to minimize
>the damage by simply stripping off the partition surrounding the
>chimney, taking all of the framing, etc. outside and to ensure that the
>fire was out. Absolutely minimal damage, all things considered. The
>bearing beam is charred somewhat but it is constructed of 5 2x10's and
>the charring is not even really all that deep. Floor joists escaped any
>real fire impingement. Could have been so much worse! Another 10
>minutes and it would certainly have been much worse - a totally
>different outcome.
>
>The house was a mess after they left, from so many firemen traipsing
>through and it looked absolutely horrible. But it was still standing
>and really - hardly the worse for wear. Kids came up yesterday and did
>a really bang up job doing cleanup. Cleanup is not really done yet but
>at least things look more like normal.
Wow, Mike! That really sucks but it could have been a lot worse.
You're alright and the house isn't a total loss. A PITA, to be sure.
Yes, it's a good thing they didn't use the hose. It's not unusual (in
fact almost without exception) that water does more damage than the
fire. A chief once told me that if they had to use more than 50 gal
of water on a house that it was a total loss.
[email protected] wrote:
>
> No smoke detectors ? !
>
> ... it's the law here - at least one per floor.
>
> John T.
>
Fuck you.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
Leon wrote:
>
>
> Wow Mike what a story. I'm certainty glad your nose was working and you
> were persistent in locating the fire before there was a lot of damage.
> And more importantly no one was harmed.
>
> But, did your DC explode? ;~)
Nope - I did not even have one - let alone a ground in it!
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
Mike Marlow wrote:
> So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday -
> a bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
> Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
> stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. <snip>
Mike,
I am glad to hear that things worked out for the better for you,
compared to what could have been...
Bill
Bill wrote:
> Mike Marlow wrote:
>> So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday -
>> a bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
>> Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
>> stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. <snip>
> Mike,
>
> I am glad to hear that things worked out for the better for you,
> compared to what could have been...
>
> Bill
>
Thanks Bill.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
On 3/5/2016 1:43 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
> So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday - a
> bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
> Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
> stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. That's a very different
> smell, for those who don't know about wood burning.
>
> I got up and looked all through the house in the area of the woodstove
> and the chimney, and found nothing at all out of order. Went outside
> and looked up to my chimney and my roof - same thing...nothing out of
> order.
>
> Went back inside and looked around again. Tried to understand if I was
> even really smelling what I thought I had smelled. Sure enough - the
> smell of burning lumber.
>
> Side note - this is a problematic smell when one lives in a log home!
>
> Went back outside and walked further down the driveway to get a better
> angle to look up at the roof and the chimney. Then I saw it - sparks
> showering up out of my chimney.
>
> I've been in many house fires over the years as a volunteer fireman, and
> as a Chief. (No longer active in fire service). I'm very familiar with
> chimney fires, and they typically have a characteristic sound which is
> often likened to the sound of a freight train. Certainly a very loud
> and very pronounced sound. The problem is - I had no sounds at all.
>
> I keep a very clean chimney and I burn only well seasoned hardwood and I
> burn my stove hot twice a day to keep it creosote free. The only
> creosote my chimney ever sees is the dry, flakey type and not the
> dripping sort of creosote. This was not making sense to me as I
> investigated.
>
> Finally opened the door to go down into the basement (which I had not
> previously investigated). Oh my God! Could not see the bottom of the
> basement stairs for all of the smoke. Became really concerned for
> introducing oxygen into a potentially explosive environment, but I'd
> already opened the door, so if something was going to flash over, it
> would have by the time I realized what I was facing.
>
> Made my way down the stairs and could not see a thing except for an
> orange glow at the base of my chimney where the cleanout is located, and
> of course the sound of fire. Made my way over to that point and saw the
> fire working in the cleanout and extending up the partition that
> surrounds the chimney.
>
> Made my way up to the garage where I keep a commercial fire extinguisher
> due to the kinds of work I do out in the garage. Brought it down and
> hit the fire. Knocked the seat of the fire down almost immediately.
> Still had fire happening due to the extension into the partition, but
> went back upstairs and called 911. Waited for years for the first fire
> guy to show up, who was a chief. We both went down to the basement and
> between his extinguisher and mine, we hit a couple more areas where it
> seemed we could further knock down any fire.
>
> Fire trucks showed up and stretched a hose through my garage, my kitchen
> and down into the basement. I lost it (I really fucking lost it!) at
> that point and heard myself begging them not to charge that hose! Just
> did not want to imagine or experience everything associated with an 1
> 3/4" fire hose at 150psi inside my house.
>
> Well, in the end they did not charge the hose, and were able to minimize
> the damage by simply stripping off the partition surrounding the
> chimney, taking all of the framing, etc. outside and to ensure that the
> fire was out. Absolutely minimal damage, all things considered. The
> bearing beam is charred somewhat but it is constructed of 5 2x10's and
> the charring is not even really all that deep. Floor joists escaped any
> real fire impingement. Could have been so much worse! Another 10
> minutes and it would certainly have been much worse - a totally
> different outcome.
>
> The house was a mess after they left, from so many firemen traipsing
> through and it looked absolutely horrible. But it was still standing
> and really - hardly the worse for wear. Kids came up yesterday and did
> a really bang up job doing cleanup. Cleanup is not really done yet but
> at least things look more like normal.
>
We had a similar experience but had no structural damage. I heard the
freight train, and went out side and saw the sparks coming from the
chimney. I told my wife to call the fire department and get the girls
out of the house. I found the hose that I had put away for the winter,
and attached it to the outside faucet. It took several years for the
water to come through the empty hose. When it did I directed the stream
of water to the top of the chimney, and had it out by the time the
fireman arrived. As I said we had not damage, but I was several years
older
"krw" wrote in message
> Yes, it's a good thing they didn't use the hose. It's not
> unusual (in
> fact almost without exception) that water does more damage
> than the
> fire. A chief once told me that if they had to use more
> than 50 gal
> of water on a house that it was a total loss.
>
The most effective tool a homeowner can have to fight a
chimney
fire is a one quart pump-spray bottle of water and a full
gallon jug
of refill. Simply pump water into the draft hole and keep
going.
The water will turn to steam absorbing a lot of heat and
cuts
off the oxygen supply. I've seen this done this many times,
BTDT.
The FD should have the tools to deal with a blockage in the
flue.
We have what's called the 'Big X', two short lengths of
angle
iron welded heel to heel with the corners cut off at a 45. A
SSTL
cable is attached to it with nuts brazed on at intervals so
the hot
cable can be gripped. This tool is let loose in the flue to
punch
through the plug releasing pressure inside so flames stop
escaping
into the attic. When the plug is open get ready for blue hot
flames
shooting up! Stand clear! Exciting action for sure! The guy
with
the spray bottle better keep pumping.... it works.
Many years ago my great-grandpa poured a bucket of water
down his chimney and it blew apart, bricks all around the
kitchen... don't do that, eih?
phil k.
DerbyDad03 wrote:
>
> Hey! Glad to hear it worked out as well as it did. Make sure you get
> that extinguisher recharged/replaced ASAP. Maybe buy a few more. ;-)
>
> Any idea what caused the clean out to catch fire?
>
Can only guess that somehow an ember got in the flue and fell to the
cleanout, igniting what creosote had fallen down there. We inspected
the chimney and it was open and clean.
Mike Marlow wrote:
> So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday
> - a bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
> Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
> stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. That's a very different
> smell, for those who don't know about wood burning.
You have a good nose. I'm glad you do,
On 3/5/16 12:43 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
> So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday - a
> bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
> Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
> stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. That's a very different
> smell, for those who don't know about wood burning.
>
> I got up and looked all through the house in the area of the woodstove
> and the chimney, and found nothing at all out of order. Went outside
> and looked up to my chimney and my roof - same thing...nothing out of
> order.
>
> Went back inside and looked around again. Tried to understand if I was
> even really smelling what I thought I had smelled. Sure enough - the
> smell of burning lumber.
>
> Side note - this is a problematic smell when one lives in a log home!
>
> Went back outside and walked further down the driveway to get a better
> angle to look up at the roof and the chimney. Then I saw it - sparks
> showering up out of my chimney.
>
> I've been in many house fires over the years as a volunteer fireman, and
> as a Chief. (No longer active in fire service). I'm very familiar with
> chimney fires, and they typically have a characteristic sound which is
> often likened to the sound of a freight train. Certainly a very loud
> and very pronounced sound. The problem is - I had no sounds at all.
>
> I keep a very clean chimney and I burn only well seasoned hardwood and I
> burn my stove hot twice a day to keep it creosote free. The only
> creosote my chimney ever sees is the dry, flakey type and not the
> dripping sort of creosote. This was not making sense to me as I
> investigated.
>
> Finally opened the door to go down into the basement (which I had not
> previously investigated). Oh my God! Could not see the bottom of the
> basement stairs for all of the smoke. Became really concerned for
> introducing oxygen into a potentially explosive environment, but I'd
> already opened the door, so if something was going to flash over, it
> would have by the time I realized what I was facing.
>
> Made my way down the stairs and could not see a thing except for an
> orange glow at the base of my chimney where the cleanout is located, and
> of course the sound of fire. Made my way over to that point and saw the
> fire working in the cleanout and extending up the partition that
> surrounds the chimney.
>
> Made my way up to the garage where I keep a commercial fire extinguisher
> due to the kinds of work I do out in the garage. Brought it down and
> hit the fire. Knocked the seat of the fire down almost immediately.
> Still had fire happening due to the extension into the partition, but
> went back upstairs and called 911. Waited for years for the first fire
> guy to show up, who was a chief. We both went down to the basement and
> between his extinguisher and mine, we hit a couple more areas where it
> seemed we could further knock down any fire.
>
> Fire trucks showed up and stretched a hose through my garage, my kitchen
> and down into the basement. I lost it (I really fucking lost it!) at
> that point and heard myself begging them not to charge that hose! Just
> did not want to imagine or experience everything associated with an 1
> 3/4" fire hose at 150psi inside my house.
>
> Well, in the end they did not charge the hose, and were able to minimize
> the damage by simply stripping off the partition surrounding the
> chimney, taking all of the framing, etc. outside and to ensure that the
> fire was out. Absolutely minimal damage, all things considered. The
> bearing beam is charred somewhat but it is constructed of 5 2x10's and
> the charring is not even really all that deep. Floor joists escaped any
> real fire impingement. Could have been so much worse! Another 10
> minutes and it would certainly have been much worse - a totally
> different outcome.
>
> The house was a mess after they left, from so many firemen traipsing
> through and it looked absolutely horrible. But it was still standing
> and really - hardly the worse for wear. Kids came up yesterday and did
> a really bang up job doing cleanup. Cleanup is not really done yet but
> at least things look more like normal.
>
Guess I'm late to this party.
Glad no one was hurt and that you reacted quickly. Good job.
An experience like that make you appreciate everything just a bit more.
Damned oak rust. :-)
--
-MIKE-
"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com
[email protected]
---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply
Lee Michaels wrote:
> My sentiment as well. Your sniffer saved your ass. Good on ya. A good
> nose can be a real asset.
>
> Having gone through all of this, is there anything you can do in terms
> of repairs, modifications, etc. to guarantee this sort of thing does not
> happen again?
>
Good question Lee. This was a bit of a freak event so it's hard to come
up with a good solid plan going forward, but since you asked, here's
what's in my mind right now...
1) Contributing factor - the chimney cleanout door had developed a
"cake" over the years that prevented it from latching properly, so the
heat from the fire was sufficient for it to distort some, and open which
ventilated the fire. What should have remained a smoulder at the worst,
became an open burn. The door being open allowed the fire to extend
into the partition. That door has since been thoroughly cleaned and it
now latches properly. Have to keep on eye on that during my annual
cleanouts.
2) I will probably open the cleanout up on a more regular basis going
forward - maybe monthly or so, just to monitor the level of build up in
the base of the chimney as well that the character of that buildup.
3) In the nicer weather, I have decided to install a stainless chimney
liner. My flue is 8" and today's stoves are only 6" stacks. That means
my chimney is mis-matched to my stove and it's normal draft will
over-cool my chimney gases. This results in creosote buildups that are
undesirable. Installing a 6" stainless liner will fix this issue. I
will be going with a smooth wall liner.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
Swingman wrote:
> On 3/7/2016 11:54 AM, Mike Marlow wrote:
>
>> 3) In the nicer weather, I have decided to install a stainless chimney
>> liner. My flue is 8" and today's stoves are only 6" stacks. That means
>> my chimney is mis-matched to my stove and it's normal draft will
>> over-cool my chimney gases. This results in creosote buildups that are
>> undesirable. Installing a 6" stainless liner will fix this issue. I
>> will be going with a smooth wall liner.
>
> Based on the above, it's a good bet Jenny Craig already has spam heading
> to the North Pole. ;)
>
>
Yeahbut the smooth wall liner should make the slide down a little easier
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
Odd - must be the moon. Last night the house across the creek from us
caught on fire and ran a family of 9 yes NINE out. Firetrucks stayed
there for hours. Total lost. They have a newly build game room/den
that was in the back yard, but that isn't a house. Isn't everything
they own. Kinda is mysterious - no one knows what happened. Wasn't
a wood burning night. The house would normally house a family of 3
maybe 4. Two bedroom house. 1200 sq ft. I bet some were sleeping in
the new building.
I did hear gun fire reports of 45 or larger reports. After 4 or 5 one
might have cut a gas line or something. Don't know if it was at their
house or next door.
Poor housing over on that road. Thought the shooters and killers were
run out several years ago - men dead or in jail. Now it starts again.
Sorry to hear. We spotted our screen cover on the Chimney was bent in
the last wind storm. Now it needs replacing and sweeping.
Martin
On 3/5/2016 12:43 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
> So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday - a
> bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
> Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
> stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. That's a very different
> smell, for those who don't know about wood burning.
>
> I got up and looked all through the house in the area of the woodstove
> and the chimney, and found nothing at all out of order. Went outside
> and looked up to my chimney and my roof - same thing...nothing out of
> order.
>
> Went back inside and looked around again. Tried to understand if I was
> even really smelling what I thought I had smelled. Sure enough - the
> smell of burning lumber.
>
> Side note - this is a problematic smell when one lives in a log home!
>
> Went back outside and walked further down the driveway to get a better
> angle to look up at the roof and the chimney. Then I saw it - sparks
> showering up out of my chimney.
>
> I've been in many house fires over the years as a volunteer fireman, and
> as a Chief. (No longer active in fire service). I'm very familiar with
> chimney fires, and they typically have a characteristic sound which is
> often likened to the sound of a freight train. Certainly a very loud
> and very pronounced sound. The problem is - I had no sounds at all.
>
> I keep a very clean chimney and I burn only well seasoned hardwood and I
> burn my stove hot twice a day to keep it creosote free. The only
> creosote my chimney ever sees is the dry, flakey type and not the
> dripping sort of creosote. This was not making sense to me as I
> investigated.
>
> Finally opened the door to go down into the basement (which I had not
> previously investigated). Oh my God! Could not see the bottom of the
> basement stairs for all of the smoke. Became really concerned for
> introducing oxygen into a potentially explosive environment, but I'd
> already opened the door, so if something was going to flash over, it
> would have by the time I realized what I was facing.
>
> Made my way down the stairs and could not see a thing except for an
> orange glow at the base of my chimney where the cleanout is located, and
> of course the sound of fire. Made my way over to that point and saw the
> fire working in the cleanout and extending up the partition that
> surrounds the chimney.
>
> Made my way up to the garage where I keep a commercial fire extinguisher
> due to the kinds of work I do out in the garage. Brought it down and
> hit the fire. Knocked the seat of the fire down almost immediately.
> Still had fire happening due to the extension into the partition, but
> went back upstairs and called 911. Waited for years for the first fire
> guy to show up, who was a chief. We both went down to the basement and
> between his extinguisher and mine, we hit a couple more areas where it
> seemed we could further knock down any fire.
>
> Fire trucks showed up and stretched a hose through my garage, my kitchen
> and down into the basement. I lost it (I really fucking lost it!) at
> that point and heard myself begging them not to charge that hose! Just
> did not want to imagine or experience everything associated with an 1
> 3/4" fire hose at 150psi inside my house.
>
> Well, in the end they did not charge the hose, and were able to minimize
> the damage by simply stripping off the partition surrounding the
> chimney, taking all of the framing, etc. outside and to ensure that the
> fire was out. Absolutely minimal damage, all things considered. The
> bearing beam is charred somewhat but it is constructed of 5 2x10's and
> the charring is not even really all that deep. Floor joists escaped any
> real fire impingement. Could have been so much worse! Another 10
> minutes and it would certainly have been much worse - a totally
> different outcome.
>
> The house was a mess after they left, from so many firemen traipsing
> through and it looked absolutely horrible. But it was still standing
> and really - hardly the worse for wear. Kids came up yesterday and did
> a really bang up job doing cleanup. Cleanup is not really done yet but
> at least things look more like normal.
>
No smoke detectors ? !
... it's the law here - at least one per floor.
John T.
On Sat, 5 Mar 2016 13:43:34 -0500, Mike Marlow
<[email protected]> wrote:
>So - I was just getting ready to lay down for the night on Wednesday - a
>bit early. Started to tuck in and I thought I smelled something.
>Something not right. It wasn't the normal smells of a wood burning
>stove - it was the smell of lumber burning. That's a very different
>smell, for those who don't know about wood burning.
>
>I got up and looked all through the house in the area of the woodstove
>and the chimney, and found nothing at all out of order. Went outside
>and looked up to my chimney and my roof - same thing...nothing out of order.
>
>Went back inside and looked around again. Tried to understand if I was
>even really smelling what I thought I had smelled. Sure enough - the
>smell of burning lumber.
>
>Side note - this is a problematic smell when one lives in a log home!
>
>Went back outside and walked further down the driveway to get a better
>angle to look up at the roof and the chimney. Then I saw it - sparks
>showering up out of my chimney.
>
>I've been in many house fires over the years as a volunteer fireman, and
>as a Chief. (No longer active in fire service). I'm very familiar with
>chimney fires, and they typically have a characteristic sound which is
>often likened to the sound of a freight train. Certainly a very loud
>and very pronounced sound. The problem is - I had no sounds at all.
>
>I keep a very clean chimney and I burn only well seasoned hardwood and I
>burn my stove hot twice a day to keep it creosote free. The only
>creosote my chimney ever sees is the dry, flakey type and not the
>dripping sort of creosote. This was not making sense to me as I
>investigated.
>
>Finally opened the door to go down into the basement (which I had not
>previously investigated). Oh my God! Could not see the bottom of the
>basement stairs for all of the smoke. Became really concerned for
>introducing oxygen into a potentially explosive environment, but I'd
>already opened the door, so if something was going to flash over, it
>would have by the time I realized what I was facing.
>
>Made my way down the stairs and could not see a thing except for an
>orange glow at the base of my chimney where the cleanout is located, and
>of course the sound of fire. Made my way over to that point and saw the
>fire working in the cleanout and extending up the partition that
>surrounds the chimney.
>
>Made my way up to the garage where I keep a commercial fire extinguisher
>due to the kinds of work I do out in the garage. Brought it down and
>hit the fire. Knocked the seat of the fire down almost immediately.
>Still had fire happening due to the extension into the partition, but
>went back upstairs and called 911. Waited for years for the first fire
>guy to show up, who was a chief. We both went down to the basement and
>between his extinguisher and mine, we hit a couple more areas where it
>seemed we could further knock down any fire.
>
>Fire trucks showed up and stretched a hose through my garage, my kitchen
>and down into the basement. I lost it (I really fucking lost it!) at
>that point and heard myself begging them not to charge that hose! Just
>did not want to imagine or experience everything associated with an 1
>3/4" fire hose at 150psi inside my house.
>
>Well, in the end they did not charge the hose, and were able to minimize
>the damage by simply stripping off the partition surrounding the
>chimney, taking all of the framing, etc. outside and to ensure that the
>fire was out. Absolutely minimal damage, all things considered. The
>bearing beam is charred somewhat but it is constructed of 5 2x10's and
>the charring is not even really all that deep. Floor joists escaped any
>real fire impingement. Could have been so much worse! Another 10
>minutes and it would certainly have been much worse - a totally
>different outcome.
>
>The house was a mess after they left, from so many firemen traipsing
>through and it looked absolutely horrible. But it was still standing
>and really - hardly the worse for wear. Kids came up yesterday and did
>a really bang up job doing cleanup. Cleanup is not really done yet but
>at least things look more like normal.
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: [email protected] ---
Wife and I went out to get some stain for a new project. Trying some
bartley chestnut stain, as I liked their coloring a little more than
some of the others.
We went to the basement and I took out some of the wood an spread the
stain on. Was about to throw the rag in the garbage... oops.
I have a metal can for the rags...
_Went and got the can, when I opened it, there was just ash in there.
WHAT!!! No burn marks, but just ash.._
I think I had a burn in the can... can't be sure, certainly don't
remember using for another purpose .. Also was surprised there is
nothing but ashes.. figured if something burned there would be a
telltale sign of a rag or paper towel.
So if I had an issue, that can did it's job. If not, damn memory is
going...
--
Jeff