About this time last year the cold had rolled in to town, the wind was blowing and snow was about to fall so seeing smoke coming from rooftops was not an unusual sight. I was driving in a part of town where you can see far distances. I noticed one house had a wood stove chimney that was putting out more smoke than the others. It just happened that I had to drive down that street and when I drove up next to the house I noticed something strange. Smoke was not only coming out of the top of the chimney but also the bottom.
I got out of my car and walked up to the front door. I rang the door bell and the door opened. I told the man standing at the door to come outside. I explained that I though there was a serious problem since smoke was coming out of the places it shouldn't. He shrugged it off and showed no concern what so ever. I said I was going to have to call the Fire Department. With that he said that he knew there was a problem. He promised he would shut the fire down and call in a wood stove contractor. With my point made I left.
A few weeks later I was in the same part of town and drove down the same street. I was shocked but not surprised about what I saw. There was fire damage to the house. I suspect the wood stove contractor was never called! The wood stove was gone and so was part of the roof and siding. This was a one of those preventable disasters. Defects in wood stoves and fireplaces can result in the fire leaving the area it's meant to be and end up where it's not wanted. We all know fire can cause major damage in a short period of time. Wood stoves and fireplaces should be inspected and serviced regularly.
Several months later I made another trip down the street. The house was looking good with it's new roof, new siding and fresh paint. The one thing that had not been replaced was the wood stove.
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