Emergency Chimney Service · DeKalb, IL
Emergency Chimney Service in DeKalb, IL
Chimney fire, carbon monoxide, a blocked or backdrafting flue, a chimney that has moved — what to do in the next five minutes, and the crew that comes out the same day, seven days a week.
Most chimney problems are maintenance. A handful are emergencies, and the difference is time: in these five situations, what happens in the first few minutes decides whether the outcome is an inspection report or a house fire. Each one below is laid out the same way — what it is, how to recognize it, exactly what to do right now, and why it cannot be left for next week. Imperial Chimney Sweepers has handled all five across DeKalb County since 1987, and we work to NFPA 211 on every emergency call.
Chimney fire
Creosote inside the flue ignites. A fast chimney fire sounds like a jet or a freight train and throws flame and sparks from the top; a slow one burns quietly for an hour and is often discovered only afterward by the damage it left.
Warning signs
Loud roaring or rumbling from the chimney, dense dark smoke from the top, a popping or crackling you can hear in the walls, flames or embers above the cap, a stovepipe or masonry wall too hot to touch, smoke in rooms the fireplace does not serve.
What to do right now
- Get everyone out of the house and call 911 from outside.
- If it is safe to do so on the way out, close the damper or the stove’s air controls and glass doors to starve the fire of air.
- Do not spray water into a hot masonry firebox — the thermal shock cracks tiles and brick.
- Keep people and vehicles clear of the roof side where embers land.
- After the fire department leaves, do not use the fireplace again until it has had a Level 2 inspection.
Why it cannot wait
Flue temperatures in a chimney fire can exceed 2,000°F. Clay tiles crack, mortar joints open, and heat reaches the framing an inch or two behind the brick. A second fire through that damaged flue can ignite the house. NFPA 211, the standard we work to, calls for a Level 2 inspection after any chimney fire.
Carbon monoxide (CO) leak
CO is the invisible, odorless product of incomplete combustion. From a chimney it comes from a blocked or collapsed flue, a cracked liner, a gas appliance venting into an oversized or cold flue, or a fireplace pulled into reverse draft by negative pressure in the house.
Warning signs
A CO alarm sounding; headaches, dizziness, nausea or confusion that improve when you leave the house; several people or pets ill at once; soot streaks around a gas appliance; a pilot that keeps going out; heavy condensation on windows near the appliance.
What to do right now
- Get everyone, including pets, into fresh air immediately.
- Call 911 or your gas utility from outside. Do not go back in to open windows or find the source.
- Do not reset the alarm and assume it was false — a detector that sounds has measured gas.
- Let the fire department clear the house before anyone re-enters.
- Keep every fuel-burning appliance off until the venting has been inspected.
Why it cannot wait
CO binds to blood far more readily than oxygen; at the levels a blocked flue can produce, unconsciousness comes before most people feel sick enough to leave. The source has to be found and corrected, not aired out.
Severe flue blockage
Something is stopping exhaust from leaving: a collapsed clay tile wedged in the flue, a raccoon or bird nest, a sheet of glazed creosote that has broken loose, ice on an uncapped flue, or debris from masonry falling in from the top.
Warning signs
Smoke pouring into the room from the first match, a fire that will not stay lit no matter how the damper is set, a strong odor from the fireplace when it is cold, chirping or scratching in the flue, pieces of tile or nesting material in the firebox, CO alarm activation with a wood fire burning.
What to do right now
- Put the fire out with water on the logs only, or let it burn down with the glass doors closed, and open windows to clear the smoke.
- Close the damper once the fire is out and do not relight.
- If a CO alarm has sounded, treat it as a CO emergency and leave the house.
- Do not run a fire to “burn out” a nest or smoke out an animal.
- Have the flue scanned by camera and cleared before the next fire.
Why it cannot wait
A blocked flue sends everything the fire produces — smoke, CO and heat — into the living space. A nest or tile wedged above a hot fire can also ignite inside the flue, which turns a blockage into a chimney fire.
Smoke backdrafting
Air is moving down the chimney instead of up, pushing smoke into the house. It is caused by wind rolling over a nearby roofline or trees, a chimney that is too short, a cold exterior flue, or exhaust fans and a tight house pulling air down the chimney as makeup air.
Warning signs
Smoke that enters the room in gusts rather than steadily, smoke only on windy days or when the range hood or dryer is running, a campfire smell in a different part of the house, soot on the mantel or ceiling above the opening, smoke from an idle fireplace when another is burning.
What to do right now
- Open a window near the fireplace an inch or two and switch off the range hood, bath fans and dryer.
- If the smoke keeps coming, let the fire die down with the doors closed and ventilate the room.
- Put a CO alarm on the same floor if there is not one already, and leave if it sounds.
- Do not keep burning in the hope it will “settle down” — smoke in the room is combustion gas in the room.
- Call so we can trace the cause rather than guessing at caps and dampers.
Why it cannot wait
Backdrafting is an airflow problem with a fuel-burning fire attached to it, and a house that backdrafts a fireplace will backdraft a furnace or water heater the same way. The fix is mechanical — height, cap design, makeup air or a damper — and it has to be found, not waited out.
Sudden structural damage
Part of the chimney has moved or failed: a stack leaning away from the house after a storm, bricks on the roof or ground, a crown that has split and dropped, flue tiles collapsed into the firebox, or a chimney struck by lightning or a tree limb.
Warning signs
A visible lean or a widening gap where the chimney meets the siding, fresh brick or mortar debris on the roof or lawn, cracks in the masonry you can fit a coin into, interior drywall cracks around the chimney breast, a firebox full of tile pieces, a chimney that shifted in high wind.
What to do right now
- Keep everyone away from the side of the house below the chimney, including the driveway.
- Do not use the fireplace, furnace or water heater that vents through it.
- If a lean is severe or masonry is actively falling, call 911 so the fire department can assess the hazard.
- Photograph the damage for your insurer before anything is touched.
- Have the chimney stabilized and inspected before the next storm, not after it.
Why it cannot wait
A masonry chimney weighs several tons. Once it is out of plumb, every freeze, wind gust and wet snow load works on it, and the next failure is the full stack coming down onto the roof or whoever is below. Structural problems do not stay the same size.
What happens when you call
Tell us what you are seeing and whether anyone is unwell. We will tell you on the phone whether to leave the house, and the emergency goes to the front of the day’s schedule. On site we make the chimney safe before anything else — clearing, capping, shutting down, bracing — then run a camera through the full flue so the written report shows the cause and the permanent fix with photos. Every service we offer, from sweeping and inspection to relining and masonry repair, starts from that report, and nothing is sold that the camera did not show.
Good to Know
Emergency questions
When should I call 911 instead of a chimney company?
Any time there is fire, smoke you cannot stop, a CO alarm sounding, a gas smell, or masonry actively falling. The fire department makes the house safe; we handle the chimney afterward. Call us once everyone is out and the immediate danger is over.
Do you offer 24-hour emergency service?
We answer and dispatch seven days a week from 7am to 9pm, including weekends and holidays, and we move emergency calls to the front of the schedule. Outside those hours, 911 and your gas utility are the right first calls, and we will be there first thing in the morning.
What does an emergency visit involve?
We make the chimney safe first: clearing a blockage, capping an open flue, shutting down an unsafe appliance, or stabilizing loose masonry. Then we do a camera inspection of the full flue so the written report shows exactly what happened and what the permanent repair is.
I think I had a chimney fire but everything looks fine. Do I still need to call?
Yes. Most chimney-fire damage is inside the flue where you cannot see it: cracked tiles, open joints and distorted metal. The outside of the chimney can look untouched while the liner is no longer safe. A Level 2 camera inspection is the only way to know.
Will my homeowners insurance cover an emergency chimney repair?
Often, for sudden events such as a chimney fire, lightning, a fallen tree or storm damage. Gradual deterioration usually is not covered. Our inspection report with photos is written so an adjuster can use it; take your own photos as well before anything is cleaned up.
Can I use the fireplace while I wait for you?
No. If something was serious enough to call about, the flue should stay cold until it has been inspected. That includes the furnace or water heater if they vent through the same chimney.
What should I do if an animal is trapped in the chimney?
Close the damper so it cannot enter the house, do not light a fire, and call. Chimney swifts are federally protected and an active nest must be left until the birds leave; raccoons and squirrels can be removed, and the flue is then swept and capped.
How fast can you get to the DeKalb area towns?
We dispatch from DeKalb and cover Sycamore, Cortland, Genoa, Sandwich, Rochelle and the rest of our service area the same day for emergencies, with the arrival window confirmed when you call. Tell us what you are seeing and we will prioritize accordingly.