Chimney Fire
Even when you rarely make a fire, creosote can build up over years or if you have never made a fire in your fireplace, creosote could be inside the chimney from the previous owner or tenant.
"I use my chimney very rarely, why should I worry about creosote"
What Is a Chimney Fire?
Once there is sufficient creosote buildup, the highly combustible creosote inside the chimey can be ignited by a regular fire in the fireplace, causing flames to shoot out of the top of the chimney. The temperature of a chimney fire is at least 2000 °F or higher. A regular chimney cannot withstand this high temperature, therefore the outside wall of the chimney will be hot enough to ignite combustible materials around the chimney. In most cases, the walls of the chimney will break from the inside out, and while many chimney fires stay contained inside the chimney liner, it is not uncommon for a chimney fire to become a structural fire as well. Chimney sweeping is the primary defense against chimney fires.

