What Bude firefighters found behind a Canworthy Water log burner

You light the log burner, the room warms up, and everything looks as it should. But the part of the chimney you can’t see is the part that decides whether it stays that way.

That was the lesson from a call-out near Bude on Sunday evening (4 October), when a crew was sent to a chimney fire at a property in Canworthy Water.

What the crew found in Canworthy Water

One pump from Bude was sent to the property at 7.20pm, according to Bude Community Fire Station’s account of the incident.

The owners had already moved quickly, clearing away the logs stacked around the burner before firefighters arrived.

The crew found a log burner that was hot because of burning embers on the register plate. They removed the log burner and scraped all of the embers out.

A short flue with no lining

Once everything had been made safe, the crew looked into the cause. They found that a short flue had been attached to the burner and that it had not been lined.

Bude Community Fire Station said both of those things carry risks.

Why a short flue is a problem

A short chimney flue will fail to create adequate draft, the station said. That causes smoke and soot particles to be drawn into the living room.

Why an unlined flue is a problem

Without a lining, the station said, toxic combustion gases and odourless carbon monoxide can escape through porous mortar joints, cracks or gaps in the brickwork, directly into the living room.

And when hot gases cool down too quickly against cold masonry, they form deposits that can easily ignite.

Where to find chimney safety advice

The station pointed people towards Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service’s chimney fire safety guidance.

📷Firefighters from Bude at the chimney fire in Canworthy Water. Credit: Bude Community Fire Station