2 Leading Causes of House Fires

In order to keep your family and home safe, we’d like to highlight the risks of dryer vent fires and chimney fires — two of the most dangerous, overlooked and preventable home fire disasters.

These are inherently out-of-sight, out-of-mind risks that are responsible for over 17,000 dryer fires causing 50 deaths per year*, and over 25,000 chimney fires responsible for over 30 deaths per year**.

How are dryer vent fires caused?
Dryer vent fires are caused by gradual build-up of clothing lint along the dryer vent hose and/or an incorrectly installed dryer vent hose that fails to ventilate properly. When the built-up lint blocks the air flow, it causes excessive heat to build up and ignite the flammable lint throughout the hose and your home.

A professional dryer vent cleaning service will use the proper tools and techniques to inspect that your dryer vent is working properly and cleared of flammable lint build-up and blockages.

How are chimney fires caused? 
Chimney fires are caused by the ignition of flammable build-up in chimneys. Chimneys are designed to safely expel the smoke, water vapor and gases from burning wood. However, the byproduct residue that remains in the chimney – a tar-like substance called creosote – sticks to the inner walls of the chimney and is highly combustible. If the creosote builds up in sufficient quantities without being cleaned, it can quietly ignite a chimney fire that can quickly spread throughout your home. 

A professional chimney sweep will use the proper tools and techniques to clean flammable build-up and inspect the chimney to ensure it’s in working order for safe use throughout burning season.

Both dryer vent cleaning and chimney sweep are recommended annually and will prevent your life from tragically going up in flames.

*Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission
**Source: National Fire Protection Agency