God help me.. I did a stupid

[GMTool]

Live and learn. The good news is that you will never do that again as long as you live. That's a one time mistake. You should have googled "how to start a fire in a fireplace". I'm sure you were freaking out. Fire is serious stuff.

[PHXLT1]

I bet God was like............wait for it...........

[snymat68]

Preheating the flue? Hairdryers? Really folks? The negligible amount of heat that will impart to the flue isn't going to help with the updraft. Hot air rises, plain and simple. It's the heat of the fire itself that causes the updraft in the chimney. That, and the proper height of the chimney above the peak of the roof.

OP, once the damper is open, it's all a matter of relative pressures to get the smoke to go up the chimney. You want higher pressure inside than at the top of the chimney. If you achieve that, the smoke will actively be sucked up and out.

Things you can do to help...
1. Crack a window nearby. This creates an easier path for air to be sucked into the house. After all, you need to have air flow into the house to replace the air that's going up the chimney.
2. Make sure you don't have anything running that is sucking air out of the house (forced air heat, clothes dryer, bathroom exhaust fans, attic fans) as these will all try to draw air backwards down the chimney.
---On this note as well, any hot water heater that uses a flame (natural gas, etc) to heat the water will need to draw air from the house (same principle as the fireplace) unless it has its own external air supply. This is another reason why cracking a window near the fireplace is a good idea. It will allow the fireplace to draw from the window, and not try to back-draft your hot water heater.
3. Don't make the fire too big for the setup you have. Not all flues and dampers are created equal. There are different sizes, and you just have to learn the limits of what you've got. This just comes with usage. Just don't overdo it at first.
4. Hotter fire means more updraft. The more heat your fire is producing, the more updraft you're going to have (physics). To the same end, a hotter fire usually more completely burns the fuel source, resulting in less smoke. After all, smoke is just particles of carbon and whatnot from the fuel source that weren't completely burned. Try to get the fire going and up to temperature quickly. If it sits there and smoulders, you're just making smoke, and don't have enough heat to carry it up the chimney. Don't overdo it though. A fire that's too hot can damage the fire brick that the fireplace is made of, and can also ignite creosote deposits in the flue, causing a chimney fire. (A good reason to have your chimney inspected/cleaned if you're unfamiliar with its history.)

Once you have a couple fires you'll get the hang of it and it will be enjoyable instead of stressful. I have 2 fireplaces in my house and have fires all the time.

As far as your smoke detectors go, if you live in a condo, they are probably hard-wired to the mains (AC). I think this is code for those types of buildings, but I could be wrong. The battery is only used as a backup in case the power is out. That's why they kept beeping even once you pulled the batteries. No way to shut them up unless you kill the power to the entire house by flipping breakers.

Also, here's a cross-section view to help you better familiarize yourself with the various parts of a fireplace and chimney.

Happy burning!

[batman53201]

I wouldn't "assume" the chimney is ok. if your roof isn't pitched too much, you can get up on the roof and run a chimney brush down a few times. I clean my stovepipe once a year because I burn it hot, but creosote can build up fast, and its better safe than sorry. my roof is steep, so I find someone to clean the chimney. chimney sweeps are expensive, I just find a roofer or someone that can handle the roof pitch, and give the guy $50 and a case of beer.

[sherob]

I just throw a fire log (el cheapo Duraflame type ) then a few real logs on top... wam bam thank you Sam, fire!

[guerrillakilla13]

Originally Posted by 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. :(

Thank you, I'm sure i'll recover fast from all that Carbon I inhaled. I was too busy freaking out to even think straight.

Originally Posted by 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...

The second time around (I did end up getting a fire going) I lit newspaper on fire and put it up to the flue to make 100% sure the smoke would rise. It did which made me feel a little more comfortable.

I'm actually really glad you said that, thank you haha. My condo still smells like burnt wood.

Originally Posted by 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!

Thank you! I definitely did do that and it worked like a charm. Next time I do it i'm going to start with like 2 logs, get them going than add to it. The more I have actually going = less smoke.

Originally Posted by 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.

Everything was shut when I first started the fire (including the flue obviously), which is why it got so bad in my condo. I'm not kidding, it was almost as thick as a steam room. I was terrified that someone would call the fire dept. or my neighbors would come knocking, and I would create this huge scene. Not to mention I wasn't thinking straight, so I could've been knocked out from the fumes easily.

Originally Posted by 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....

My condo was built in the early 90's. And I wouldn't call it a fire incident; nothing caught but the firewood. The only issue I introduced was a sheet ton of smoke. I didn't know it was a misdemeanor! If I had known last night I probably would've called. But I had the situation under control in a matter of 15 minutes or so. All the smoke disappeared fast with fans moving, but I still smell it of course.

Originally Posted by GMTool

Live and learn. The good news is that you will never do that again as long as you live. That's a one time mistake. You should have googled "how to start a fire in a fireplace". I'm sure you were freaking out. Fire is serious stuff.

I had a mini panic attack, that's for sure. I wasn't thinking straight and thought I might trigger the sprinklers too (but they're heat activated, so that wouldn't have been a thing). It was just so loud.

Now that I think about it, i'm more concerned about the fact that none of my neighbors called in or came over to see if I was alright. Those smoke alarms could've been heard for miles.

Originally Posted by snymat68

Preheating the flue? Hairdryers? Really folks? The negligible amount of heat that will impart to the flue isn't going to help with the updraft. Hot air rises, plain and simple. It's the heat of the fire itself that causes the updraft in the chimney. That, and the proper height of the chimney above the peak of the roof.

OP, once the damper is open, it's all a matter of relative pressures to get the smoke to go up the chimney. You want higher pressure inside than at the top of the chimney. If you achieve that, the smoke will actively be sucked up and out.

Things you can do to help...
1. Crack a window nearby. This creates an easier path for air to be sucked into the house. After all, you need to have air flow into the house to replace the air that's going up the chimney.
2. Make sure you don't have anything running that is sucking air out of the house (forced air heat, clothes dryer, bathroom exhaust fans, attic fans) as these will all try to draw air backwards down the chimney.
---On this note as well, any hot water heater that uses a flame (natural gas, etc) to heat the water will need to draw air from the house (same principle as the fireplace) unless it has its own external air supply. This is another reason why cracking a window near the fireplace is a good idea. It will allow the fireplace to draw from the window, and not try to back-draft your hot water heater.
3. Don't make the fire too big for the setup you have. Not all flues and dampers are created equal. There are different sizes, and you just have to learn the limits of what you've got. This just comes with usage. Just don't overdo it at first.
4. Hotter fire means more updraft. The more heat your fire is producing, the more updraft you're going to have (physics). To the same end, a hotter fire usually more completely burns the fuel source, resulting in less smoke. After all, smoke is just particles of carbon and whatnot from the fuel source that weren't completely burned. Try to get the fire going and up to temperature quickly. If it sits there and smoulders, you're just making smoke, and don't have enough heat to carry it up the chimney. Don't overdo it though. A fire that's too hot can damage the fire brick that the fireplace is made of, and can also ignite creosote deposits in the flue, causing a chimney fire. (A good reason to have your chimney inspected/cleaned if you're unfamiliar with its history.)

Once you have a couple fires you'll get the hang of it and it will be enjoyable instead of stressful. I have 2 fireplaces in my house and have fires all the time.

As far as your smoke detectors go, if you live in a condo, they are probably hard-wired to the mains (AC). I think this is code for those types of buildings, but I could be wrong. The battery is only used as a backup in case the power is out. That's why they kept beeping even once you pulled the batteries. No way to shut them up unless you kill the power to the entire house by flipping breakers.

Also, here's a cross-section view to help you better familiarize yourself with the various parts of a fireplace and chimney.

Happy burning!

Thank you so much for that valuable info! Before I start my next fire I will have a professional check my chimney to make sure i'll be okay. I found out the hard way that the alarms were hardwired when I removed one of the batteries and it kept screaming. I went down stairs and flipped every breaker, but of course they all had batteries so the ones I couldn't reach kept screaming. It was a total nightmare.

Originally Posted by batman53201

I wouldn't "assume" the chimney is ok. if your roof isn't pitched too much, you can get up on the roof and run a chimney brush down a few times. I clean my stovepipe once a year because I burn it hot, but creosote can build up fast, and its better safe than sorry. my roof is steep, so I find someone to clean the chimney. chimney sweeps are expensive, I just find a roofer or someone that can handle the roof pitch, and give the guy $50 and a case of beer.

Good advice. I'll see if I can find someone to do so. Again i'm a brand new home owner so I have zero hookups. My parents have always owned newer homes so we never had a true fireplace.