Chimney blazes main cause of house fires, says council

CHIMNEY blazes are the biggest known cause of house fires the National Safety Council (NSC) revealed yesterday.

The NSC warned the public to clean their chimneys often to cut the number of potentially lethal fires. Of the 28,099 fires attended by the fire brigade in 2002, 5,509 were chimney fires.

The majority of fires were in Leinster, where four out of 10 chimney blazes occurred.

Some 32% were in Munster, 21% in Connacht and 7% in the three Ulster counties Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan.

Most fire outbreaks occur in rural areas, the figures show.

This could be a result of the older age profile of many rural homes and their relative distance from sources of natural gas which have replaced open fires in many urban areas.

The biggest number of fire brigade call outs for chimney fires was in County Cork, 379, with a further 157 in Cork City, followed by Co Galway, 377 and Co Dublin, 370.

There were no chimney fires recorded in Wexford, just 12 in Co Louth and 39 in Co Leitrim.

NSC chief executive Pat Costello last night urged the public to get their chimneys swept thoroughly and regularly.

“If you have an open fire in the home you should have the chimney swept at least twice a year, particularly when you are regularly lighting fires,” he said.

Chimney fires occur when carbon and dust build up and sparks from an open fire cause them to ignite.

Mr Costello warned chimney fires can quickly spread to other parts of a house.

“Don’t overload your fireplace. A fire that’s too large or too hot can crack your chimney,” he said.

“In the event of a chimney fire it’s important not to panic. Place a spark guard in front of the fire to stop hot soot falling out,” he says.

The NSC says chimney fires mostly started because basic safety measures are ignored and when:

A fireplace is dirty or has been overloaded.

Rubbish or piles of paper are burned.

There are cracks in the chimney.

The NSC is also advising people to have their chimney liner inspected.

“Ensure you have a minimum of two smoke alarms in the home and test them once a week and invest in a carbon monoxide detector,” Mr Costello said.

The NSC believe around a quarter of homes do not have a smoke alarm.

In addition, the majority of those with alarms don’t test them regularly, Mr Costello said.

“This is something we’re very concerned about and we would advise that people try and buy long life smoke alarms which cost a bit more but they are worth it,” he said.

The battery in regular smoke alarms generally last for a year, but new alarms costing €25 have in built batteries that work for more than 10 years.

A leaflet entitled How to Avoid A Chimney Fire is available from the NSC on 1890 200 844 or at www.nsc.ie