Often overlooked, the smoke chamber is a very important part of your masonry fireplace and must be kept clean for safe operation.

The smoke chamber is located above the firebox and the bottom of the flue. It consists of smoke chamber walls and a smoke shelve.

The smoke shelve is located at the back of the smoke chamber and actually sits on top of the firebox. The smoke shelve is where falling soot, creosote and other debris will end up. It is one of the most important areas to clean while sweeping your chimney, as many chimney fires actually start here.

The smoke chamber walls begin at the damper or throat and end at the bottom of the flue. The walls corbel to the top of the smoke chamber to provide a smooth transition for the smoke to enter the flue. The inside front of the smoke chamber is referred to as the breast of the fireplace, it to is corbelled. The breast is constructed to protect the wall above the fireplace from getting hot and possible catching fire.

The smoke chamber walls are required by the NFPA to be parged or smoothed over with mortar, this is to protect any nearby walls from fire.