Here in the North East, we get a lot of chimney fires during the winter. Wintertime is actually the worst time of year for fires, period, which makes sense... Anyhow...
The normal drill for chimney fires is to get on the roof with a ladder or aerial truck, drop chains down the chimney to break up any creosote, then drop bags full of dry chemical agent down the chimney to snuff the fire. At the same time, you have a search team go into the house with a charged hose line to check for extension into the house. If there is extension, it is no longer a chimney fire, it is now a working structure fire. You normally don't put water down the chimney because it will destroy the liner of the chimney. With me so far? This works so-so. There is another way to handle chimney fires that one department uses around here:
Another department uses a positive pressure vent fan to blow a column of air right into the fireplace. With a strong air flow going through the chimney, dump the contents of a 20lb extinguisher into the fireplace so it goes up the chimney. This sounds good, except that the top of the chimney will look like a rocket initially, and if there is a crack in the liner, it will blow the fire right into the house.
Here is my idea of how to handle chimney fires:
What is needed?
- Two, 20lb dry chem extinguishers loaded with Triple-K fire agent.
- Modify the hoses on the extinguishers so either a straight pipe 4' long or a 6', L shaped pipe can be mounted in place of the nozzles.
- A ladder to access the roof.
- Chain bag if the chimney is blocked.
- One engine (initial response) with a full crew (six persons or more).
On arrival, perform a 360 and assess if the fire appears to be limited to the chimney. If yes, proceed, otherwise treat as a working structure fire.
If it looks like it is limited to the chimney, have a team go into the fireplace with a 20lb extinguisher with the straight pipe. The pipe is stuck as far up the flue as possible and the discharged. At the same time, a charged hose line is laid to the front door and a second team gos in with a thermal imager to check for extension around the chimney. If there is any indication of extension, the hose line comes in and the walls get opened up.
The second arriving team puts a ladder onto the side of the house and climbs to the roof with the second extinguisher and the L shaped pipe. The tip of the pipe is put into the top of the chimney and discharged. This should extinguish any fire from both ends of the chimney, even if there is a blockage. The chain bag is then run down the chimney to break up the creosote and any blockages.
Here is the idea behind this:
On arrival, the first clue that you are facing a chimney fire is flames and smoke pouring out of the chimney. This is caused by the creosote in the chimney catching fire. There is normally a strong airflow up the chimney caused by convection, which causes the rocket-like appearance.
We are going to use this airflow on the initial attack with the fire extinguisher into the fireplace. The length of pipe on the end of the hose ensures that all of the agent gets past the flue into the chimney. The second team checks for extension with a thermal imager and no hose line to allow them to move as quickly as possible. The hose line is available if needed. The third team puts additional dry chem down the chimney from the top with the second extinguisher in the event there is a blockage in the chimney. The chain bag at the end makes sure there is no blockage. Additional agent may be needed if there is still evidence of fire after the chain bag opens up the chimney.
The whole idea behind this is to get the fire out as fast as possible, with as little damage as possible to the house. Total elapsed time for the first two teams is probably about two minutes.
Thoughts? Ideas? How do you fight chimney fires - let's share ideas!
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