FOCUS: FIREPLACE DANGERS
House fires underline need for fireplace precautions
Warmth, ambience of burning wood can turn, without safeguards, into scenes of destruction
All that’s left of the Oliveras’ recreation room is the front of the charred brick fireplace and the remains of a blackened pool table with an eight ball still lodged in a corner pocket.
Sunlight filters in through the space where the roof used to be, casting a weak glow over the exposed ceiling beams, tattered bits of wall insulation and glass shards that cover the floor.
“It just kind of happened so fast,” said Amherst resident Michelle Olivera, who was stringing up Christmas tree lights at her home on Frankhauser Road in November when a wood fire worked its way out of the fireplace and into an adjoining closet.
Olivera was one of several people whose homes incurred major damage or burned to the ground because of fireplace-related blazes over the holidays. Farther down the same street, a home was destroyed in 2007 when fireplace ashes were disposed of improperly.
A fireplace is supposed to be a safe place to build a fire for warmth and atmosphere, but there’s plenty that can go wrong. And many problems aren’t easy to detect.
From 2003 to 2006, more than 10,000 structure fires and 131 deaths or injuries were attributed to fireplace-or chimney-related problems, according to a report released this month by the National Fire Protection Association.
Locally, the state’s Office of Fire Prevention and Control has received reports of 19 major structure fires in Erie and Niagara counties involving fireplaces or chimneys from 2005 to 2007.
On Christmas, a home on Calumet Street in Depew sustained major damage when a homeowner hosting a small holiday party started a wood fire in an improperly installed fireplace. Hot ashes ignited behind the fireplace and flames traveled up through the second story.
“This pretty much ruined the whole house,” said Jason Ostrach, fire investigator with the Depew Police Department. “There was smoke in every room. There was water damage in every room. Half the roof is missing.”
The homeowner, who had conscientiously had his chimney swept the year before, had gone outside for a cigarette break early Christmas evening when he noticed smoke billowing from the eaves of the house.
“When we went in there, they still had the chips and dip laid out and the beer in the cooler,” Ostrach said.
Tom Merrill, chief of the Snyder Fire Department, said fireplaces have been the source of the last three major structure fires his department has handled. Many suburban homes built in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s have fireplaces that don’t meet modern fire codes, he said.
“There are hundreds of fireplaces that we suspect were built with insufficient materials,” said Merrill, who also is president of the Amherst Fire Chiefs Association.
Many older fireplaces were built primarily for decorative or occasional use and with material that can break down over time, said Amherst Senior Fire Inspector Rick Andrews. They weren’t meant for heavy-duty home heating the way some people use them today in an era of high fuel costs, he said.
Olivera said she thought her fireplace was safe because she and her husband had bought their house in May 2007, and the fireplace was inspected prior to sale.
The home’s recreation room was an addition with its own furnace at the rear of the house. Its main feature was a beautiful, brick-front fireplace that stretched from floor to ceiling.
The Oliveras said they considered the fireplace a selling point when they bought their four-bedroom home and used it for hours at a time during the cold winter months.
But according to the fire investigation, a seam in the fireplace insert sat too close to concealed wood beams in the floor. Those beams got hot enough to catch fire and the blaze spread into an adjoining closet and up into the attic.
Fortunately, the Oliveras had a smoke detector in that room. They made it out of the house with their children and cats but lost the majority of their belongings and a tank full of fish to heat, smoke and water damage.
Olivera did manage to salvage two slightly melted totes full of family photos from the rec room.
“Those are just about the only thing in the room that didn’t burn,” she said.
The family is now renting a house and periodically returning to the burned property — which looks surprisingly normal from the front — to complete an inventory list for the insurance claim and eventually begin the rebuilding process.
The biggest problem with fireplaces and chimneys is that many potential fire hazards are concealed from a homeowner’s view. Even certified technicians can check only what they can see.
“There is no chimney sweep, there is no fire inspector, there is no one on the face of the earth who can tell you if that chimney is safe to use,” said Marc Gagne, owner and general manager of AAA Timberline in Clarence, which has been involved in the fireplace and chimney business for 31 years.
The best any conscientious homeowner can do is find ways to reduce the risk, he said.
“When you have a product that is venting poisonous gas and smoke, you want to pay attention to it,” he said. “That chimney is extremely important. It’s more important than the roof on your house. If you roof doesn’t work, you’re going to get a drip. If the chimney doesn’t work, you’re going to take the life of the people who live in your home.”
Chimneys should be inspected annually for deterioration by certified technicians and cleaned to remove creosote, a combustible byproduct of wood burning, according to fireplace and chimney experts.
Technicians also should inspect the fireplace itself for proper installation and clearances from other combustible materials.
Local fire investigators add that fireplace users also need to be more cautious about the disposal of ashes. Ostrach said he routinely responds to calls about house fires that result from ashes tossed in the trash too soon, pointing out, “We just had that happen two weeks ago.”
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments