Homeowners are being urged to keep their chimneys safe after fire crews battled an overnight blaze at a house in Chester.
Four fire engines from Chester and Ellesmere Port had to be dispatched to the property on King Street just before 3am on Wednesday (February 18) and crews battled with the flames for three hours using specialist breathing apparatus.
The source of the fire is believed to have been a log burner, and firefighters had to remove the ceiling and the back of the fireplace to properly deal with the fire, which was declared out just after 6am.
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service dealt with 105 chimney fires in the county during 2013/2014 and have now issued safety advice to help prevent fires within chimneys.
Chimney safety checklist:
Most chimney fires are preventable. Regular inspection and cleaning of chimney flues will help prevent fires within chimneys.
Some top tips for safer chimneys are:
-Keep chimneys and flues clean and well maintained
-Make sure embers are properly put out before you go to bed
-Always use a fire guard to protect against flying sparks from hot embers
-Chimneys must be swept on a regular basis this can be as much as three times in the burning season (winter) but at least once per season regardless of fuel type.
-All wood burned must have a moisture content of no more than 15%.
-It is important to purchase the correct size appliance for your room, an appliance which is too large will never be used hot enough to volatize all of the fuel within the wood and unburned fuel will pass up the chimney as smoke and condense within the flue as extremely flammable creosote.
For more chimney safety advice visit http://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/public-safety/home-fire-safety-advice/chimneys#.VOSfSvmsWSo
