Chimney Tops Fire Cause

23 on chimney tops trail before spreading into gatlinburg sevier county and pigeon forge.

Chimney tops fire cause.

Some fires erupted naturally from lightning strikes. Investigators had previously said the fire started around nov. The most common cause of chimney fires creosote is the most common causes of all chimney fires. The chimney tops 2 fire was originally reported on november 23 2016.

Authorities considered the fire to be. Chimney fires can burn explosively noisy and dramatic enough to be detected by neighbors or passersby. Most often thermal shock occurs and tiles crack and mortar is displaced which provides a pathway for flames to reach the combustible wood frame of the house. Chimney tops seen about 6 months after the fires with visible burn scars.

No suppression activities were initiated and on november 24 2016 park fire officials delineated containment boundary made of natural features which were hoped to contain the fire. Another event that could happen although i have never heard of it actually happening is that you could get so much moisture in your attic that it could condense and roll down the stringer onto your chimney. The main culprit of chimney fires is creosote. Forest landscapes like those seen from the chimney tops made the smokies into america s most visited national park.

The wildfire was determined to be human caused and under the investigation of the national park service atf and tennessee bureau of investigation. It has happened and usually isn t discovered until people have spent a terrible sum fixing everything else. Nps photo by warren bielenberg. Dirty chimneys can cause chimney fires which damage structures destroy homes and injure or kill people.

This highly flammable dark brown substance coats chimney walls when by products of a fire smoke vapor and unburned wood condense as they move. Creosote is a highly combustible chemical let off by fireplace wood your chimney s job is to take these toxins and lift them out of your home. Flames or dense smoke may shoot from the top of the chimney. When a chimney fire occurs in a masonry chimney whether the flue is an older unlined type or tile lined to meet current safety codes the high temperatures at which they burn around 2000 f can melt mortar crack tiles cause liners to collapse and damage the outer masonry material.