The Rural Voice, 1995-10, Page 35�g
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of smoke instead of bright light. You
strike cap -to -base to ignite it, throw it
in the clean-out, close'er up tight and
hope to oxygen -starve the blaze in the
above.
chimney
The five-year-old flare
wouldn't strike. I used two
matches, got it to sputter
some, but it just wouldn't
ignite. I opted for PLAN B .. .
PLAN B substituted a 15 lb CO2
fire extinguisher for the flare. 15 lbs
refers to the weight of the CO2. The
tank itself weighs a lot more, maybe
20 kg. Going down our narrow,
awkward stairs I dropped the dang
thing, which may have damaged the
hose connection, 'cause when I put
the horn into the clean out and
squeezed the lever, icy CO2 shot all
over my bare hand and blew chunks
of soot back into my eyes. The angle
of application was all wrong. Several
minutes of trying produced little
more than frozen fingers and a tear-
stained face. I could hear the fire
sucking up air. I closed the portal
(sort of) and went on to PLAN C ..
Our lakeside roof slants nearly to
the ground, so it's relatively easy to
mount it from the porch and walk the
angle to the ridge. Relatively easy,
that is, if you're not toting an
industrial -size fire extinguisher.
With considerable effort, I made it to
the ridgeline, toe -balanced my way to
the chimney and triggered three short
blasts down its throat, now belching
dark -brown smoke and visible flame.
The initial "Whoosh ... Whoosh
... Whoosh" of CO2 seemed to have
a moderating effect. I whooshed it
again, then stuck the horn as far into
the brickstack as its hose would allow
and emptied the entire tank with an
oh -so -satisfying feeling of "Take that
you #!@%*!"
"There's smoke coming out of the
windows!" yelled Alice from below.
"Lots of it ... All over the place ..."
All that smoke had to go somewhere.
It couldn't go up, a resistant wall of
frosty gas prevented that, so it went
where it could: Back Inside!
left my post to survey the scene
inside. It was then I realized the
traction deficiencies of crepe -
soled, loosely -laced moccasins.
Going down a 30 -foot roof slide, with
a 20 kg fire extinguisher in one hand
and nothing for balance in the other,
was something akin to skiing on
gravel, with one ski! My only regret
was that no one was there to capture
this feat on video for the six o'clock
news. Heck, not even Alice saw it!
"The whole house is filled with
smoke!" said my not -so -calm spouse.
"Don't you think we should call the
fire department?"
"Look at the chimney," I clucked,
pointing to the wisp of white smoke
over her shoulder. "I think we've got
it licked. Let's see inside ... "
Smoke hung in layers wherever
we went. I opened what few
windows were closed on the first
floor; Alice did the same upstairs and
Heating with wood safely: how to do it properly
BY ART WHITE
• MAINTAIN EQUIPMENT
Your heater must be sound and its
placement up to code. Replace
cracked flu liners or brickwork;
refurbish ill-fitting, past -its -prime
stove pipe; allow no creosote build-
up. Clean the chimney before,
during and after the
burning season.
• BURN DRY
HARDWOOD
"Fall -to -Fall -is -Best -
of -All," is what the old
folks say. Use year-old
hardwood (softwoods =
creosote, creosote =
trouble).
• MIND YOUR
DAMPERS
Damper down after
your wood fire is
established. "Chimney
Fire!" started with a
damper left open. Don't
trust your wood -burner
to a novice adult without
complete instructions, or
to a child ever!
• THINK SAFETY
Maintain smoke
detectors. Use a stack thermometer
to confirm dangerous heat levels at a
glance. Keep extinguishers close by:
a package of baking soda for grease
fires/an over -taxed firebox; a larger
CO2 or dry powder appliance for
backup.
• IT'S A FIRE, NOW WHAT?
A crackling, red-hot stove pipe
indicates trouble (as will acrid -
smelling smoke). Close all dampers
(stove, stack, chimney), check
outside smoke. If it is billowing (or
crackling in the pipe continues),
throw several cups of baking soda or
table salt into the firebox and tight -
close the system. If it hasn't
subsided in three minutes, call the
fire department and
A woodstove can add warmth and beauty to a home and
common sense precautions can reduce your worry.
"think evacuation"
(firefighters prefer false
starts to late arrivals).
WARNING: Fire
spreads quickly! All
persons, pets and
irreplaceables should be
evacuated. Pre-
determine and practice
routes of escape "spon-
taneously," especially
with•children.
Firefighters say, if the
fire has become open
flame, it's probably too
late to do much ... GET
OUT!
PREVENTION IS
THE KEY TO
SAFELY HEATING
WITH WOOD.O
OCTOBER 1995 31