If your wood stove is close to a wall, here’s an easy way to protect the wall from catching on fire. Attach a sheet of 1/4″-thick masonry board to the wall behind the stove. A 4′ x 4′ sheet will be adequate for any of the common wood stoves. Leave a 2″ air space between the wall and the sheet of fireproofing to provide ventilation and keep the wall cool. Cut 2″ long sections of copper pipe (approximately one for every square foot of board) and position them as shown in the illustration. These will act as spacers. Pre-drill holes in the board, then place 4W dry-wall screws in those holes and through the pipe, then tighten the screws into the wall.
The intense heat from a chimney fire is likely to crack the bricks in the chimney, making it easy for the fire to ignite any woodwork that’s in contact with it. For this reason, keep all structural members at least 2″ from a chimney.

If your chimney catches fire
The old-timers used to say that if your chimney caught fire, you should allow the fire to burn itself out. Don’t listen to them. If you have a chimney fire, call the fire department immediately.
After the fire department has extinguished a chimney fire, wait until things cool down, then clean your chimney thoroughly before using it again. The fire may not have consumed all combustible material in the chimney.

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