Chimneys

["booboo £]

Why aren't chimneys built so that water will drain properly if a chimney fire causes the fire department to flood the chimney with water? That way you don't need excessive water damage in the home. Just have the chimney drain into a sump where a pump could evacuate the water outside or into a storm drain. In fact, why don't they put sprinkler systems into the chimney? Even better, a halon system that removes oxygen from the chimney to snuff out the fire.

[hallerb]

or just clan the chimney yearly so a fire never occurs?

[AZ Nomad]

Why not just build your house entirely out of concrete and use concrete for your furniture?

If the fire company is pouring water down your chimney, chances are already that you're f***ed. It might be a good thing for more water to enter the house instead of being shunted away while the house burns to the ground.

[Red Green]

"booboo £ ¥ 0/00 :)" wrote in news:478fb927$0$5169$ [e-mail]:

If they did, idiots would have nothing to post on newsgroups.

[George]

Its been done:

Henry Mercer actually burned bonfires on the roof of his Fonthill property in 1912.

[S. Barker]

Just closing the stove doors will suffocate the fire if your stove or glass doors are installed properly.

s

[Edwin Pawlowski]

You can add a halon system yourself. Why not just go do it?

I've been told that the fire departments are using some sort of chemical bomb instead of water for chimney fires. Perhaps a firefighter here can verify that.

It all comes down to money.

[AZ Nomad]

Halon isn't ncompatible with inhabited residences. Halon does a lovely job of removing the oxygen from the residence. If you're a wide awake worker in a computer lab, you have a good chance of getting out before the oxygen is gone.

But if you're asleep when such a system goes off, forget about waking up to a wailing smoke detector. You'll never wake.

but not brains.

[Harry K]

agenews:478fb927$0$5169$ [e-mail]...

Not a firefighter but yes, there are such bombs. IINM they are available to consumers also. Dunno why I have never looked for one. I do have a couple small extinguishers near the stove.

Query. Grease fire on top of stove. Throw salt on it. Or so I was told back as a kid. Does that work and if so, why not on a chimney fire?

Harry K

[Edwin Pawlowski]

But he doesn't live in the chimney.

IIRC, Halon 1301 is no longer made new now anyway. Clean Agent extinguishers can have inergen and argonite.

[AZ Nomad]

are you sure?

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Thu 17 Jan 2008 08:57:32p, AZ Nomad told us...

Is he a gnome?

[Stormin Mormon]

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[Stormin Mormon]

I do believe you are thinking carbon dioxide.

[Stormin Mormon]

Salt is good, baking soda is better.

What are the odds you can get a half inch thick layer of salt to stick to the inside of your chimney? You'd have to lay the chimney on its side, and only one interior side of the chimney would be allowed to be burning at a time.

[Harry K]

Technicalaities ;). I thought it somehow gave or a gas or something.

Harry K

[HeyBub]

It's not the salt. Salt has no intrinsic fire suppression capability. It's the suffocation that puts out the fire. In place of salt, you could use sugar, dirt, the floor mat, the cat, or anything else that won't burn. (I prefer the skillet's lid.).

Don't waste time running next door for a cup of salt.

As for a chimney fire, I suspect if you covered up the chimney's exterior opening, the fire would go out. 'Course that involves running next door to borrow a ladder, finding a metal plate large enough to cover the hole, and perhaps, removing the chimney cap...