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Appreciation post: I just read that a single chimney fire can hit 2000 degrees Fahrenheit
Found that in an old fire department training manual at a yard sale. Makes you think twice about skipping those annual cleanings, doesn't it?
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charlie3846mo ago
That temperature is just insane to picture, like way past what most house fires get to. It's basically a forge inside your chimney, and brick can't handle that for long. I always figured it was bad but not "melt the mortar and collapse the flue" bad. That's a whole different level of scary, makes you realize how fast a small fire turns into losing the whole house.
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aaronallen6mo ago
Read a firefighter's blog where they said chimney fires can hit 2000 degrees. At that point the bricks expand and crack, and the mortar just turns to powder. They said you can actually hear the masonry popping like gunshots from the stress.
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kevin_knight726mo ago
Yikes, that's hotter than a pizza oven on max! My dumb brain always pictured chimney fires as just some extra sooty flames, not a mini-volcano in your living room. That kind of heat could turn your brickwork into gravel and send sparks flying everywhere. Guess I'm calling the sweep tomorrow.
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