Whether you have a fireplace, wood stove, hot water
tank, gas furnace, or oil furnace that utilizes the
chimney, they all require maintenance, cleaning and
repair as needed.
Try to imagine your chimney as being the lungs of
your house. If your chimney is obstructed or blocked
up with a bird’s nest, raccoon nest, or brick, your
chimney will not be able to breathe which will result in
carbon monoxide being released into your home.
The byproduct of wood is creosote, so even with normal
cleaning and maintenance of the chimney, there is still the
potential for a chimney fire to occur. However, the
predominant factor is the intensity of the chimney fire and
obviously a clean chimney will most certainly burn with less
intensity than a chimney that has not been cleaned at all.