Fires

• When wood burns in a fireplace the smoke and part of the heat escapes through a ventilation shaft known as a chimney. As the wood burns it creates a sooty material known as creosote that gradually collects on the inside walls of the chimney. As the creosote thickens it narrows the passage in the chimney and eventually causes a blockage if not cleaned out properly by a chimney sweep. Creosote is also combustible, and the heat build up or rising sparks from a burning fireplace below can cause the creosote to burst into flames and can result in a home fire.
  
  

Toxicity

• When fire burns a fuel source it emits byproducts, some of which are very toxic. Among the gasses released when wood burns in a fireplace is carbon monoxide. Although it may be more obvious when your chimney is blocked than when you have a carbon monoxide problem with a gas fireplace, the substance is still as toxic when it comes from a wood-burning fireplace. Some people may disregard headaches or nausea or even fatigue as symptoms unrelated to their home environments when in fact they could be experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning because the chimney is dirty and is not allowing the gas to escape. Carbon monoxide poisoning is potentially deadly.
  
  

Odors

• When the smoke from your fireplace isn't able to escape through the chimney because it hasn't been cleaned out, the only place for the smoke to go is inside the home. Even a short exposure to the dense smoke from a fireplace can cause you carpets, furniture, clothing and even the walls to take on a smoky odor. While the faint smell of smoke from a fireplace can be pleasing to some, it is unlikely that the heavy smoky smell will be appreciated by anyone in the house. The smoke could even cause permanent damage to parts of your home because the odors may not be able to be removed in some cases.
  
  

Statistics

• Overall the biggest concern regarding chimney cleaning is fire prevention. To get an idea of how significant of a problem chimney fires can be, check out the fire statistics from the Consumer Product Safety Commission website. The numbers from the 2005-2007 report released in 2010 show that there are an average of 385,100 residential structure fires in the United States each year. On average the fireplace and chimney are the cause of approximately 26,000 of those fires, many of which are preventable with chimney cleaning. This makes fireplaces and chimneys the most common cause of structure fires, nearly double that of the next highest cause, the oven and range.