I have burned wood for forty years. Better than three decades ago I had one. It is etched in my memory. Someone banging on my front door yelling "flue fire, flue fire." It was Christmas morning. I got up not knowing what the person was yelling. When I got out it the front room I could hear it. At that point I could hear the siren of the local fire dept. We all just watched it until in calmed down. The firemen made sure it was not going to burn my old house down.
If you have never seen one, you do not want to. It is something you won't forget.

So if you burn wood please do not put off cleaning out the chimney at regular intervals.

They can be deadly.

I let my fire get very hot last night by leaving the damper open longer than I should of. The stove was really hot. Made me think about the night about 30 someodd years ago.

I had a chimney fire on Christmas day in my first house.
I decided to burn all the wrapping paper.
My chimney was unlined meaning it was just brick, no flue liner.
I got up in the attic and it was full of smoke so I called the FD at lunch time Christmas day. They were NOT amused.
This was my first house and I have learned a few things since.
I clean my flue every spring now after I am done heating for the season.

Buy a high efficiency wood stove and run it hot. Do NOT simply vent any wood stove directly into a fireplace that was built to burn open fires. Have a quality 8” continuous flex pipe installed that is connected at both the stove and the cap.

I used to have an old Matherly insert from the 70’s and my 12” sleeve was dangerously coated with creosote every year. We had a couple of low grade chimney fires that I was able to choke off by taking air out of the equation. I never had a rocket engine thankfully.

We started last year with a Regency 1200 and a high efficiency stove or insert is the way to go. We run it hot most of the time and it keeps the entire first floor toasty warm. A good indicator that your fire is hot enough is your ashes. If they are fine, white, and fluffy you are doing it right. Letting it coal up overnight is fine as long as you open it full bore in the morning. When I brush the pipe out, there is almost no residue, and the inside of the pipe is silver all the way to the cap.

Recently, there have been several chimney fires in my neighborhood, including one at my next door neighbor's house. A house a few blocks away is just finishing up a total rebuild as a result of a chimney fire. Another neighbor had a chimney fire even though he had recently had his chimney cleaned and inspected.

The fire department takes chimney fires in this area very seriously. When my neighbor's chimney caught on fire, they sent 10 engines. One of the firefighters said that it doesn't take long for the whole house to become involved. He also said that the earthquake that we experienced nine years ago damaged some chimneys and could be the reason some chimney fires spread so quickly.

I burn a lot of wood, clean the chimney a few times a year. I’ll go up during the next thaw, when the roof clears off.

I did have my stove apart two weeks ago for an internal cleaning. The next area is that last 3-4 feet of chimney. We did lose power for 3+ hours the other day with an ice storm, little concern here.

Are those "chimney sweeping logs" worth anything, for interval maintenance? They claim to clean out the creosote. My in-laws don't like to pay for yearly cleaning of the chimney on the vacation cabin. It probably sees less than 30 days of use, a year.

Bruce

I’ve never had faith in those ‘chimney sweep’ type logs, a hot fire will likely do about the same.

With only a handful of fires a year, one could go a while between cleanings. Besides creosote buildup, birds or other critters can leave debris. I can tell by the reduced ‘draw’ on my stove when it needs a cleaning.

With many one can use a hand mirror to inspect.

I have an 8” round chimney, so I use a brush that fits.

I would also suggest cleaning your chimney in the fall before woood burning season starts. Ours was almost completely closed off with a wasp nest last year.

I called a chim. sweep once, he came out and told me it was clean as a whistle, no charge. Never had it done. Just burn right hardwoods is key.'

One day the fire dept banged on my door and told me I had a fire in my chimney. I told them, no way.
They forced me to let them in to see. No, I was just burning some old school papers.
They then proceeded to make me remove everything on my hearth, though I have Steel and glass doors on the fire place. They would not leave until I was done with it. I asked them if they now knew why I did not want them to come in?

I have luckily never needed the fire dept. Someone driving by, called them and then they tried to bill me. I called and told them what happened and I would not pay for the call, they knew the guy who called, he was a volunteer firefighter.