Forgettable pg 1 1-26-12
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- Category: Past Issues
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
A painful lesson.
Fireplace ashes turned tragic recently in southwestern Connecticut, and were responsible for a house fire in Woodstock, highlighting the importance of fire safety at home.
Putnam Fire Marshal and Assistant Fire Chief Normand L. Perron said the rules for ash disposal, fireplaces, wood stoves, chimneys may be complex, yet common sense applies.
Perron said wood stove and fireplace ash should always be considered dangerous. "Never, never place ash in paper or plastic bags. Ash residue can be insulated by the ash itself and ignite under different circumstance," he said. His recommendation is to place ash in metal containers and move them outside the house or garage to a safe area. "This continues to be the major problem. People think that because the fire is out, the ash residue must be OK. Not true.”
He recommended treating all ash residue as if it is possible that it may re-ignite. Asked if homeowners should spray ash with water, Perron said, "No, SOAK" with water. Spraying will only cool the exposed ash. Ash needs to be completely soaked to be confident that the ash will not re-ignite.
In the Putnam Fire Marshal Office's "Burning Wood" booklet, the hot embers are not always detectable in ashes.
Chimney fires are common, too, and prevention entails getting your chimney cleaned regularly. The factors affecting how often include how often you use the fireplace, wood stove, wood furnace, etc.; the age and condition of the chimney; the types of wood burned and how long it has been seasoned; the liners in the chimney or lack of liners; and the amount of use. Perron said if a stove is used only when the occupants are home, as opposed to continuously, the chimney will be heated and then cooled causing creosote. Burn dry seasoned hardwood in a fireplace to help prevent creosote.
Free-standing wood stoves should be installed 36 inches away from combustible walls. In a booklet section taken from the Maine State Fire Marshal's Office, fire officials caution that "merely covering a wood-studded wall with a non-combustible material does not constitute a non-combustible wall. Only solid masonry or corrugated steel walls are considered non-combustible. Fire-resistant insulating board may be suitable for protecting combustible surfaces.
Zero clearance prefabricated metal fireplaces can be installed closer to walls. Many fires result from improper installation or incorrectly connections to chimneys. A stovepipe can be no closer than 18 inches from the ceiling and the straighter the pipes are, the safer they are.
Perron cautioned that the ignition temperature of a wall changes. A new wall will start to burn between 500 and 700 degrees. If the wall is continually heated and dried out over a period of time, ignition temperatures can drop to 200 to 250, he said. "For this reason, an improper installation becomes a time bomb."
Up on the roof, officials said, to prevent downdrafts and fire from sparks, a chimney's height must be at least 2 feet above any roof surface within 10 feet horizontally. In addition, the chimney must be 3 feet minimum from the roof penetration. Multiple connections to one chimney are not recommended.