My rotary brush caught fire on a 3-story flue job Tuesday

I was up on a roof in downtown Portland cleaning a heavy creosote buildup when sparks started flying from my drill attachment. The brush got so hot the nylon bristles melted onto the flue liner and I had to yank the whole setup out fast. Fire department showed up because a neighbor saw smoke, but it was just the brush smoldering not the chimney. Has anyone else had a power cleaning tool overheat like that on a tough job?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin_flores1mo ago

Three stories up with a flaming brush is pretty much my nightmare, but then again I once set my own desk on fire with a bad calculator battery so I'm not one to judge.

oscar_hunt611mo ago

Actually, working up high with a flaming brush doesn't sound that bad if you know what you're doing. A little controlled fire from that distance is way safer than messing with ancient batteries or electronics that can blow up in your face. Given you already had a desk fire from a calculator, I'd take the brush fire over old tech any day.