Spring and fall are the most common times of the year for chimney fires, especially on those days that are nice and sunny. Naturally, wood stoves get operated at lower temperatures when it warms up, causing creosote to build up in your chimney. When it cools off again, the stove gets burned hotter bringing the creosote up to ignition temperature resulting in a chimney fire. The following are a few steps you can take to help prevent a chimney fire. 

• Only burn wood with 15% moisture content or less (split the wood and check the core with a firewood moisture meter to get an accurate reading). 
• Split your wood to a 5” diameter or less, it will dry out better and burn hotter. 
• Stoke your wood to a high burn twice a day (if you want less heat put in less wood). 
• Avoid a low smoldering burn. 
• Make sure you have the right chimney for your stove. 

Is your chimney safe enough to contain a chimney fire? A chimney should be able to withstand a fire. Obviously, it is something you would want to avoid, but on average a chimney sees at least one fire in its lifetime. If you are concerned, give us a call, we can scope it with a chimney camera for a thorough inspection.