It is a sad fact that every year in France

• 7000 people are victims of fire.
• 1 in 2 victims of a fire dies or is hospitalised in serious condition.
• 2/3 of the victims are killed by the fumes.
• 70% of fires occur at night.
• 6000 people are victims of a poisoning due to carbon monoxide (CO) and 300 die.

There has never been a better case for having your chimney swept, having and your wood burning stove correctly installed and fitting a carbon monoxide detector. Judging by the following photos it can’t be a moment too soon for some home owners! You’ll be surprised by the state of some chimneys we’ve seen but we’re not.  After several years of sweeping flues of all kinds we’ve seen it all but even then there are those that ‘cap it all!’ This chimney is clearly non-compliant on several counts and it’s quite safe to say that it is no fit for purpose. If you’ve got a chimney like this that is clearly ‘off its stack’ we recommend that you stop using the flue and ask round a professional to give you a quote to repair it! And if that one wasn’t bad enough how about the one below?  A shocking stack in a shocking state after the owner had carried out his own DIY repair and was more concerned about getting the fire going again after it had been swept.  Needless to say that the sweeps brush would probably have been enough to topple this stack when trying to sweep this one and as such it was swiftly condemmend… along with its owner! More shocking tall chimney stories are being stacked up and coming soon! Send us photos of your chimneys or stove installations if you think that you can top these!