God help me.. I did a stupid

[guerrillakilla13]

I'm writing this as I just now calm myself from my mini panic attack.

About 40 minutes ago I wanted to start a fire in my condo fireplace. I've never done this before, so I just went to the gas station and picked up some normal firewood. When I got home, I put two pieces of wood in the fireplace and used a lot of newspaper for kindling. I started the fire, and as it was starting up pretty good I noticed a behemoth ton of smoke pouring out of the place. I'm a brand new homeowner and of course I didn't know that the VALVE WAS SHUT, or that there was such a thing as a fireplace valve.

I started opening all of the doors but it was too late. Every single smoke alarm in my house went off and I started freaking out. I couldn't reach one of them because it was so high up, but the other smoke alarms i removed the batteries from and they still wouldn't shut up. For about 10 solid minutes I was running around my condo trying new things and freaking out.

Life lesson learned. I don't think I'm ever going to use that fireplace ever again. When I did open the valve (with an oven mitt, because it was directly on top of the fire), it still wasn't catching ALL of the smoke from the fire. So I decided to just kill it with water before I did something else stupid.

So far I haven't had the FD or PD come to my door. The alarms shut off about 15 minutes ago. I guess that's a good thing

[batman53201]

its called a damper or flue. don't use paper, use fire sticks. once the chimney heats up a little, the smoke will rise.

[guerrillakilla13]

For next time, if I use little sticks as kindling only, will it spit out as much smoke as newspaper? Also, when I opened the valve I noticed that some smoke was going up the chimney and the rest was spilling into the house.

Is that because I had doors open? The flue is really small for the amount of smoke that was coming out..

Again, i've never done any of this before.

[motorhead]

Just checking in to see if God replied. I didn't know he had an account. That would make it much easier than praying to communicate with him.

About your fireplace, 1. get someone that knows how to use one before you use it again to show you how to operate, take care of and make sure it's safe. 2. Nothing wrong with using newspaper at all to start it if you do it right. Thus, refer to number one.

[guerrillakilla13]

I think god replied by shutting off the fire alarms and allowing air to spread quickly out of the house with everything open. now i'm freezing cold...

Just watched a few vids on youtube. I will probably heat up the damper first with newspaper than maybe try again..if I can find the courage to do so. I don't know if I can stand another firealarm screech again.

Called my dad during the ordeal and he walked me through it. Thank goodness for that or i'd probably still be freaking out.

I just have a question or two.. Is a house fire supposed to smoke like crazy, and is the flue supposed to be rather small looking?

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by guerrillakilla13

I think god replied by shutting off the fire alarms and allowing air to spread quickly out of the house with everything open. now i'm freezing cold...

Just watched a few vids on youtube. I will probably heat up the damper first with newspaper than maybe try again..if I can find the courage to do so. I don't know if I can stand another firealarm screech again.

Called my dad during the ordeal and he walked me through it. Thank goodness for that or i'd probably still be freaking out.

I just have a question or two.. Is a house fire supposed to smoke like crazy, and is the flue supposed to be rather small looking?

Is this a newly built fireplace or and old one? Normally, you open all draft dampers all the way to start the fire because you want to get the flue ways and the chimney warm so it starts drafting. If you haven't had the fireplace inspected by a pro before and you know nothing about it's history, you really shouldn't use it until you do so. If it's a new home, fine out who did the chimney and have them do a courtesy visit with you to go over it's use.

[guerrillakilla13]

Originally Posted by motorhead

Is this a newly built fireplace or and old one? Normally, you open all draft dampers all the way to start the fire because you want to get the flue ways and the chimney warm so it starts drafting. If you haven't had the fireplace inspected by a pro before and you know nothing about it's history, you really shouldn't use it until you do so. If it's a new home, fine out who did the chimney and have them do a courtesy visit with you to go over it's use.

Thanks for your help buddy. I looked up a ton of youtube tutorial videos and decided to go ahead and try starting a fire again (after all, if it started smoking badly again I had a thing of water nearby, the fan switch nearby and backyard door ready to be opened.

Voila! It works! First thing I did was light up a newspaper and hold it up to the flue, which heated up the chimney a bit. Than I started a fire with wood and newspaper and all the smoke is being sucked up like a vaccuum. I'm so glad I got that figured out

I looked into the valve before I started the fire again, and the fireplace looked pretty clear from the bottom. I don't know how long its been in use but i'm assuming its okay since no more smoke is coming into the house.

now i'm worried about all the carbon monoxide I inhaled. I'm not kidding, the smoke was almost as thick as being inside of a steam room at the gym.

[hrpiii]

congrats on your fire...and you will be fine. You will be surprised how strong your body is at recovery.

Now I miss my fireplace. :(

[pcrdude]

Open damper, light newspaper and hold up to open flue for a few minutes to "prime" the flue and warm it for updraft. Start fire any way you want, and all the smoke magically goes up.

I did your mistake once, so don't feel so bad. I'm quite certain we are not the only two who have...

[camguynj]

TIP ..each time you're gonna use the fireplace first open the flu then get a hair dryer and blow hot air up & around the flu for 2/3 minutes. Works like a charm It'll heat up the flu and smoke will start rising as soon as you light the fire. Hint, place some paper & kindling pieces on the grate before you use the hair dryer topped with 2 log pieces, this way as soon as you turn the hair dryer off the flu still has hot air in it and you're ready to light the fire ...bye bye smoke and hello fire!

[clashley1976]

I miss having a fireplace... great place to hang out and relax on a fall or winter evening. These days, I have a backyard firepit.

Gotta make sure your flue is open when starting a fire. This will keep the smoke out of the house, and also help encourage a draft to keep the fire burning nice and hot.

One very important thing is to keep the chimney clean! If you haven't done so already, find a local chimney sweep to clean the chimney. This should be done yearly. Many years ago, I was a volunteer firefighter in a rural area, and our most frequent fire runs in the winter involved chimney fires caused by dirty chimneys.

[xc_SS/RS]

I dont know if someone mentioned this but opening a window or door near the fireplace to assist with the draft when starting the fire can help get the smoke moving properly. Don't use much paper when starting fires as well to cut down on the amount of ashes you have to pick up.

[xk49]

You sure it's not a gas fireplace?

[90503]

Yeah, if it's fairly new construction, odds are it may not even be designed for actual wood-burning....Could be gas only/fake log type...or even electric....

You should call the FD, though. Just in case, sometimes not reporting a fire incident is a misdemeanor.....Be careful....