It's not pleasant, but imagine your smoke detectors going off in the middle of the night when your family is in deep, sound sleep... suddenly the shrill beep & scream of your smoke detectors try to pierce your dreams and alert you all. Hopefully, the detectors succeed... (have you put in fresh batteries this fall??).
Not a pretty thought, is it? Everyone's groggy, confused, disoriented... and perhaps now facing nasty, black, thick smoke -smoke that will, literally, knock you to your knees with only one breath of it!
A chimney fire often will spread through a crack into the walls and attic of your home. It will get a huge headstart, long before the smoke gets into your living space -where your smoke alarms are. When enough smoke finally does set off your alarms, you & your family may only have a few seconds, not minutes, to get out, and your normal exits (the stairs, your front or back doors, etc.) could be blocked by that thick smoke, or even fire. (See picture above)
You must be proactive rather than reactive. Start by putting new batteries in your smoke detectors -whether or not the present ones "need" replacing or not. Period. Do it!
The cold weather season IS here, and we all know it will get worse. If you burn wood, check your stovepipe and chimney NOW for any creosote buildup, cracks, rust holes, etc. We recommend paying a professional chimney sweep to do a thorough inspection.
If it's not cold enough to get a big hot fire going in the stove, be aware that a smouldering fire will produce a LOT of dirty smoke that likes to cling to your pipe & chimney -causing a rapid buildup of creosote "crud" -so check them often! Look out for gradual buildup in the corners of retangular chimney flues. Only build a very small fire in the firebox so it can burn fast & hot without smouldering. Damp, moderately chilly days with little wind, plus a smouldering fire in your stove will produce more creosote than you'd expect.
Now... about that dryer & it's vent you've neglected to clean... see separate message.
