Crime & Safety
Chimney and Heating Professionals Weigh In on Damage from Earthquake, Hurricane
With cold weather arriving in Maryland an inspection of chimneys and heaters may be prudent according to area chimney and safety professionals.
Area chimney and heating experts weighed in on the possible damage caused by the earthquake, hurricane and floods as residents begin to use their fireplaces and furnaces regularly.
Dennis Amor, owner of All Pro Chimney Service in Lanham, said his business has already worked on close to 30 chimneys that have been structurally damaged as a result of the natural disasters.
He said he has seen cracks in the exterior and some damage to interior flu liners from the earthquake, as well as leaky chimneys from the and heavy rains during September.
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Amor said a leaky chimney can deteriorate bricks, cause a moldy smell and do damage to drywall, but that structural damage could be worse.
“If during the earthquake [a chimney] shifted and moved over a few inches, you could be restricting airflow,” said Amor.
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He said a change in airflow could cause smoke to settle in an area it’s not supposed to and cause a buildup of creosote, a combustible compound that presents a fire hazard.
He said homeowners may not realize there’s a buildup until the chimney is being used. He recommended getting an inspection before the winter.
Lydia Bonacorda, the vice president of Spartan Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning in Brentwood, said her business didn’t get a lot of work from heating system damage as a result of the earthquake.
She said a number of Spartan’s plumbers fixed sub pumps that couldn’t handle the amount of water coming into homes, but that heating systems seemed to be fine.
“I haven’t seen much damage done from the earthquake or floods,” said Bobby Leizear, an HVAC repairman for Spartan. He said he saw maybe one or two heaters that got water into its blowers.
In an , fire service professionals warned about damage to chimneys and ventilation pipes as a result of the August earthquake.
Mark Brady, spokesperson for Prince George's County Fire/EMS wrote in an e-mail to Patch today that he expects more incidents involving chimney and furnace fires to occur as the weather gets colder.
"We do remind our citizens and residents to have heating equipment checked every year to ensure it is cleaned and in proper working order," wrote Brady.