Safety & Compliance
If you think you have a chimney fire happening now, call 999 and ask for the fire service. Everything else on this page can wait until they have been.
A chimney fire is burning deposit inside the flue, and it can reach temperatures well beyond anything the structure was built for. Most pass without spreading to the building, but the damage they leave behind is what makes the next one dangerous.
Do this immediately
The priority order is people, then the fire service, then the appliance.
- Call 999 and ask for the fire service, even if it seems to be dying down
- Get everyone out of the house
- Close the stove door and shut the air controls to starve the fire, if you can do it safely
- Do not throw water on the fire or up the flue
- Move furniture and rugs away from the fireplace and hearth if there is time
- Check upstairs rooms and the loft for heat or smoke, but do not stay inside to do it
How to recognise one
Chimney fires are not always dramatic. A slow burning one can be almost quiet, which is how people end up sitting through the early stages of one without realising.
- A roaring or rumbling sound from the chimney breast
- Dense, dark smoke pouring from the pot
- Sparks or flame visible at the top of the stack
- An intensely hot chimney breast or flue pipe
- A strong acrid smell and crackling from above the appliance
Why the flue must be inspected afterwards
The heat of a chimney fire cracks clay liners, distorts and splits metal liners, and damages the mortar joints and parging inside a masonry stack. None of that is visible from the room, and all of it can allow combustion gases and heat into the building fabric next time the appliance is used.
A camera survey up the full length of the flue is the way to establish the actual condition rather than assume it survived. Where damage is found, the flue needs relining or repair before the appliance is used again.
Why it happened
The fuel of a chimney fire is deposit, and heavy deposit comes from cool, slow, smoky burning. That means wet wood, running the stove shut down for long periods, an oversized or uninsulated flue, or simply too long since the last sweep.
Insurers frequently ask for evidence of regular sweeping after a claim, which is another reason certificates are worth keeping.
Preventing the next one
Regular sweeping at an interval matched to how much you burn is the single most effective measure, because it removes the fuel before it accumulates. Burning dry wood, running the appliance properly hot rather than smouldering, and avoiding overnight slumbering do the rest.
If a survey finds glaze rather than soot, deal with it. Glazed creosote is the material that turns a routine flue into a chimney fire waiting for a hot burn.
Frequently asked questions
Should I call the fire service if the fire went out on its own?
Yes. Chimney fires can continue burning out of sight inside the structure and reignite, and the fire service will check the flue and the surrounding fabric with thermal equipment that you do not have.
Can I use the stove again afterwards?
Not until the flue has been inspected. The damage that matters is inside the flue and inside the structure, and using the appliance on a damaged flue is how a second, much more serious fire starts.
Does a chimney fire mean the chimney needs relining?
Sometimes. It depends what the inspection finds. A masonry flue with cracked parging or a distorted metal liner needs putting right, while a flue that has come through intact may only need sweeping and monitoring.
Will my insurer cover it?
That is between you and your policy, but many policies expect evidence that the flue was maintained. Keep your sweeping certificates and the report from any post fire inspection.
How soon can you inspect after a fire?
Tell us it was a chimney fire when you contact us and we will prioritise it, because you have an appliance you cannot use until it is checked.
Had a chimney fire? Get the flue surveyed before relighting
We sweep the flue and run a full camera survey so you know its true condition rather than hoping it came through unharmed.