Chimney soot fire - what to do

How to tell that soot is burning in the chimney

• a loud roaring or rumbling in the chimney, like a train or an aeroplane;
• thick, dark smoke, sparks or even flames coming out of the chimney;
• the stove or boiler starts drawing very hard, even with the air supply closed;
• the chimney walls in the room or in the attic are hot, and the paint on them is peeling;
• a sharp smell of soot or tar and smoke in the room or in the attic.

Sometimes soot burns slowly and quietly, without a roar. Then the only signs are sparks from the chimney, the smell and unusually hot chimney walls. This is also a fire.

What to do in the first minutes

1. Call 112 Say that soot is burning in the chimney, give the address and what kind of house it is (wooden or masonry, with an attic). The firefighters will put out the burning soot and check whether the structures around the chimney are starting to burn.
2. Get people out Everyone who does not need to help goes outside. If there is smoke in the room, you go outside too.
3. Reduce the air supply If you can do it safely, close the firebox door and the air supply damper. The less air, the more slowly the soot burns in the flue.
4. Do not climb on the roof or go into the attic Do not open the cleaning doors, do not climb on the roof and do not go into an attic full of smoke. Burning soot can fall out of a cleaning door.
5. Wait for the firefighters Tell them where the chimney passes through the floors and the attic, and when and with what you were burning.

What never to do

• Do not pour water into a hot chimney or firebox. Water instantly turns into steam, its volume grows more than a thousand times, and the hot masonry or ceramic liner cracks from the sudden cooling. Steam and burning soot can burst out through the firebox door.
• Do not try to burn the soot out completely by adding air or wood. That heats the chimney even more.
• Do not light the fire again the same day or the next day to check that everything is fine.

Burning out soot as a cleaning method is forbidden by the fire safety regulations. Some people still do it on purpose, but this is exactly how the cracks form through which smoke or flame reaches the attic next time.

After a chimney fire: do not light a fire until it has been checked

The State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) points out that burning soot damages the flue and helps micro-cracks form. From outside the chimney may look sound, but inside there may be cracks in the masonry, burnt-out sections of joints, or a bent or burnt-out steel liner. The regulations forbid using a damaged flue, so before the next fire the chimney needs to be cleaned and looked at from the inside.

In the inspection we clean the chimney, look at it from the inside, usually with a camera, and check where it passes through the attic. We record the result in the certificate: whether the flue may be used and what needs repairing. How it works: chimney check after a soot fire.

Also report the incident to your insurer and keep all certificates and invoices for chimney cleaning. The Latvian Insurers Association advises keeping them as proof that the home has been properly maintained.

Why soot catches fire

Soot and tar are fuel that has built up on the walls of the flue. One hot fire or a spark is enough to set a thick layer alight. VUGD names wet wood and household waste as the main sources of soot. Soot build-up is also encouraged by long smouldering with the air closed, single-wall metal pipes in cold attics and a flue that was not cleaned before the season.

A layer of tar is the most dangerous: it is glossy, black and hard, burns very hot and cannot be removed with an ordinary brush. About this: chimney tar removal.

How often it happens

In the first nine months of 2025, VUGD put out burning soot in the flues of Latvian homes 261 times, and for another 229 fires the likely cause was a fault in the heating system or incorrect use of a heating appliance. In 2026, from 1 September to 20 October, VUGD recorded 19 soot fires. Overall, firefighters go out to more than 500 calls a year where soot is burning in flues.

Since 13.11.2025 the law does not provide for a fine for an uncleaned chimney by itself, but if a fire breaks out because of an uncleaned flue, VUGD may impose a fine of €140–430 on a natural person.

How to prevent a chimney fire

• Clean the flue by 1 November, and for long-burn appliances (usually a boiler, a metal stove and a sauna stove) once more between 1 November and 1 March.
• Burn dry wood and do not burn waste, packaging, painted wood or plastic film.
• Do not let the stove smoulder for hours with the air closed.
• Order a technical condition inspection of a solid-fuel flue once every five years.

Deadlines by appliance: how often to clean a chimney. The service: chimney cleaning.