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We had a house fire last night-woodstove

2K views 21 replies 14 participants last post by  redfury 
#1 ·
Last night we had our wood stove going and as usual it got pretty hot in the house so I stopped feeding it wood around 9 pm then around 10 pm we noticed a lot of smoke coming in around the mantle (wood stove is an insert into a fireplace and was here when we moved in) then I looked outside and noticed even more smoke coming out from the outer walls behind the fire place. I closed it up tight thinking it was a draft problem then we seen flames above the stove behind the mantle so I called 911 and sure enough we had a fire in the walls above and behind the stove. Everyone is fine but the area around the chimney and fireplace is destroyed
and the whole house smells like fire. Mark
 
#2 ·
I know the feeling...we heated with a franklin fireplace (freestanding) for the first 15 years when we moved

into our brand new, built for us, custom home. I religiously cleaned the chimney, we used only aged hardwoods

and still had chimney fires. Once it sounded and looked just like a jet fighter taking off on after burner...scared

the s___ out of me ! We did have smoke alarms, and a fire bottle, to little avail, I couldn't get near the stove, it

was so hot. Fortunately it didn't burn the house down, but it did give me a wake up call ! The very next winter

I had a boiler and hot water baseboard system in place and ready to go. Smoke alarms as a backup were in place

too. I know it isn't funny, believe me, and I hope you can salvage and reclaim rather than demolition and rebuild.

If you haven't been in touch with rehab service company like Service Masters, you may want to do that first. They

helped clean a number of our clients' homes for various problems, and were costly, but very effective.

Good luck

Uncle Bob
 
#3 ·
this was not a chimney fire I just cleaned the chimney two weeks ago this was the wooden mantle and a few boards around it basically according to the fire chief the wood was old and very dry and the heat just eventually got to it. He said no one was at fault its just the way things are sometimes . We are going to have it redone in rock or brick no more wood. And thanks for the thoughts, Mark
 
#9 ·
Glad to hear everyone is ok. Had you decided to load the stove & go to bed, this story may have had a totally different outcome.
I lost a workshop and contents once in a very similar scenario; hope your insurance co. treats you right. That can definitely make a bad situation a bit better.
-Mike-
 
#10 ·
Is the Transmission OK... ? Golly !!

Just kidding, of course - glad to hear all is sorta' OK, bummer about the smoke - seems it is the most common complaint / problem following a fire like that ( mostly contained ).

Mike
 
#11 ·
Glad everyone is OK! I'm a wood burner myself and nothing terrifies me like thinking about what could go wrong. I think the chimney is more important than the stove as a safety concern and personally use double wall stainless flue pipe inside a brick chimney. You have another reason to be thankful at Thanksgiving this year!
 
#12 ·
who ever installed the stove most likely did not follow code the fire box (original fireplace was brick but when they installed the stove which does not appear to be an insert they put plastic covered insulation instead of foil covered insulation around the fire place then wood structure then used a stucko type covering that is/was approximately 3/4 inch thick (the orange colored areas) Now I am not a construction guy in the least bit but this to me just does not appear to be right. Look at the pictures and feel free to ad to this.
 

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#14 ·
I'll bet that would have been fine for use simply as a fireplace but the wood stove was too much heat on the front.
With a wood stove your bringing the fire inside to use the heat in the room rather than heating the chimney.
In the condo my youngest just bought there is a fireplace insert. The framing and sheetrock actually abut the metal. The hearth and surround were real cheesy, sheet metal over wood for the hearth and a copper surround 8" on the sides, 10" on top with a 5/4" x 8" as a mantle. My Xmas gift to him is to rehash that mess. 1" granite hearth, fake stone face over hardibacker (cement board) with a mahogany mantle.
After seeing your pics I'm going to replace the wood framing w/ metal stud close to and above the firebox.
 
#18 ·
I've built a lot of fireplaces. a framed chimney with red brick,wire and masonary mortar just don't mesh with a wood burner. looks like it doesn't have a steel flue either. you must of had that stove stoked up to get that exhaust heat so hot it ignited that wood. replace it with a pellet stove less work less ash more heat.
 
#19 ·
One question.....if you get it inspected AND it turns out to have been a sub-par installation, who, exactly do you plan to take to task over this?
This looks like a do-it-yourselfer stuck a woodstove into a fireplace then visited LOWE's to shop for materials to clean up the crime scene. I'm NOT a certified installer but there is no way that install meets any codes for clearances to combustible materials.
Don't open YOURSELF up to liability; Get it rebuilt to code then get the NEW WORK inspected. Why pay for an inspection that will only tell you what you already know? Which is that it wasn't meant for actual use....strictly cosmetic.
-Mike-
 
#20 ·
Don't need to repeat the obvious about "code" because a fire wouldn't have occurred in the wall with a proper set up. There are very good forums on wood burning with "code" installers and fire fighters as members. "Codes" or building ordinances vary with different municipalities. A good place to start is a local wood stove dealer because they normally have installation services available and are capable. Good luck.
 
#22 ·
More importantly, not fixing it right and having another fire down the road means the insurance company will turn you right around back out the door. I think the consensus is the same here. Hard to say what code was back in 84...might have been considered sufficient. There's a few decades of house fires that have shaped the new code based on older installations....

Take for example a new furnace. Our 30 Year Old Borg Warner gas furnace tried to kill us this fall. The replacement uses PVC pipe for the exhaust instead of the chimney. With forced exhaust out of the house and a direct fresh air intake, it's a huge step up in safety compared to the old one.
 
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