Braidwood: the quiet chimney fire nobody heard, and how the camera found it
Not every chimney fire roars. Most of the ones we find were slow, quiet burns the family never noticed. The evidence they leave is specific.
The call
A routine sweep on an 1880s coal-era cottage near Front Street in Braidwood. The owners had bought it two years earlier and burned wood in the fireplace all winter with no drama. When we looked in the firebox, the creosote on the back wall was not the usual flat black; it was puffed up and honeycombed, like burnt marshmallow. That is what creosote looks like after it has burned.
The evidence
We ran the camera. The first three tiles above the smoke chamber had vertical cracks; two of them had opened wide enough to see mortar behind. The damper plate was warped and discolored, with a blue-brown tint that cast iron takes on when it has been much hotter than a normal fire gets it. On the roof, the crown had a fresh crack and there were creosote flakes in the gutter. Everything pointed to the same thing: a chimney fire sometime in the last two winters, probably a slow one that burned for twenty minutes on a night with a big fire in the box, and went out on its own when the fuel was gone.
What to do after one
NFPA 211 lists a chimney fire as a trigger for a Level 2 inspection, and the flue is not to be used until it is repaired or relined. In this case the cracked tiles meant a liner: an insulated stainless liner for the fireplace, new damper, crown coat. We wrote the report with photos in case the owners wanted to file a claim, which they did successfully. The lesson we give every Braidwood homeowner with an old cottage chimney: if you have ever heard a low roar or a series of pops in the flue, or found puffy creosote in the firebox, treat it as a fire and get the flue scanned before the next one.
If this sounds like your house: we handle Level 2 chimney inspections across Kankakee County, and our Braidwood page covers what we usually find there. Call (815) 449-4264, 7am to 9pm, any day.
Quick questions
What does a chimney fire sound like?
Sometimes a roar like a freight train. Often just popping and crackling from the flue, or nothing at all.
Can a chimney fire happen without flames at the top?
Yes. Slow, oxygen-starved fires burn quietly inside the flue and go out on their own.
Is the chimney ruined after a fire?
Usually not. Cracked tiles mean a liner, which restores it. A rebuild is rare.
Will insurance cover chimney fire damage?
Sudden damage from a chimney fire generally is covered. A documented Level 2 inspection is what the claim needs.
Published October 7, 2026 · By Jacob Dove, Friendship Chimney Sweep, Bourbonnais IL