Author: InspectionFire

Here is a brief list of updates between v2.30 to v2.92 which will start to roll out to accounts today. Please contact our office if do not see it show up in your account soon. Vanessa will also reach out via text or phone to let you know it is there. 

PDF FORMATTING / OUTPUT

• Line spacing for numerous fields in the PDF output updated to be consistent throughout the document
• Additional spaces or page breaks showing up in the PDF output removed
• Photo compression increased slightly to help keep submissions under 25 MB where large inspections are performed
• Output changed to a link sent via email as opposed to the PDF itself. This is to help when large inspections exceed 25 MB as when size increases above that point the PDF may not generate as it cannot be emailed or received by most email providers. If larger the link still allows downloading and generation without issue. 

PHOTO DOCUMENTATION SCREEN

• The pre-written notes screen and the checklists screen were combined into one screen so you can use either pre-written notes, or checklists, or both, and mix them back and forth throughout your report as you go.
• The pre-written notes selection boxes were disconnected from each other so that you can change or edit prior selected pre-written notes, or remove them, without affecting selections after that point.
• There are up to 7 prewritten notes per photo block entry you can choose and 56 checklists to choose from. 
• Language in the pre-written note selections simplified for easier searching and viewing.

IN DEVELOPMENT FOR RELEASE SOON

• Masonry measurements pull sheet and auto check function on dimensions and sizing. This is mostly complete, just waiting on the final design of the PDF output and testing. 
• Dynamic data that pushes out and pulls in so that once company information, disclaimers, and prompts are set in any form they will pull into any forms where those fields are present so that they only have to be entered once and will update automatically as new versions of the forms are updated.

As always – PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK – and let us know if there are any updates or ideas you have. We are actively working on improving all aspects of the app and workflow. Thank you!

How to Communicate the Hidden Danger of CO Spillage

As an inspection professional, your job isn’t just to inspect—it’s to persuade, guide, and ensure safety. Homeowners assume that if their heating system, fireplace, or chimney has worked fine for years, they’re in the clear. That’s the trap. CO is silent, invisible, and deadly. Your job is to help them see the unseen and take action before it’s too late.

Key Concepts to Explain to the Homeowner

1. What Is Carbon Monoxide and Why Is It Dangerous?

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can quietly fill your home without you knowing. It comes from incomplete combustion, and if it’s not vented properly, it can turn a safe space into a deadly one.

CO doesn’t announce itself. There’s no smell, no visible smoke—just symptoms that mimic the flu. Headaches. Dizziness. Nausea. And if ignored? The consequences can be fatal.

2. Why CO Spillage Happens

Your venting system is designed to remove CO safely. But if something disrupts that process—if the draft isn’t right, if a blockage forms, if negative air pressure pulls gases the wrong way—CO can spill right back into your home.

At this point, show homeowners the evidence—the drafting issues, the venting blockages, the appliance malfunctions. Make the invisible visible.

3. Common Causes of CO Spillage

Explain the root problems in a way that lands:

• Blocked or Restricted Venting – “Your system relies on a clear path to vent. If there’s creosote buildup, debris, or even an animal nest in there, CO has nowhere to go but back into your home.”
• Negative Air Pressure – “Your home is working against itself. When exhaust fans, dryers, or range hoods pull air out faster than it can come in, it creates a vacuum that pulls CO back in instead of pushing it out.”
• Cracked or Deteriorated Chimney Liner – “Think of your chimney liner like a hose. If it’s cracked or broken, it leaks. And in this case, what’s leaking is carbon monoxide.”
• Improper Appliance Sizing or Installation – “If the system isn’t matched properly, it won’t vent right. And when it doesn’t vent right, CO stays inside.”
• Lack of Maintenance – “A dirty system doesn’t work like it should. Regular maintenance isn’t just about performance—it’s about safety.”
• House Pressure Issues – “Your house is built tight for efficiency, but that same efficiency can trap CO inside. The way air moves through your home can either help or hurt.”

How to Present Your Findings

1. Keep It Direct, Keep It Real

Don’t soften the truth, but don’t alarm them either. Your tone should say: I know what I’m talking about, and I’m here to help you stay safe.

“I’m seeing signs that CO could be spilling back into your home. Since CO is odorless and invisible, you wouldn’t know it unless a detector goes off, or until symptoms show up—or worse. Let’s talk about what we can do to fix this now.”

2. Show, Don’t Just Tell

People believe what they see. Use every tool you have:

• Photos of blockages, damage, or improper installations.
• Smoke or draft tests to illustrate airflow issues.
• CO detector readings to prove the problem in real-time.

Make them feel like they’ve discovered the issue alongside you.

3. Offer Actionable Next Steps

Instead of overwhelming them with problems, make the solution simple and clear:

• Further Testing: “We need to run a draft test or combustion analysis to confirm the full extent of the issue.”
• Chimney and Appliance Maintenance: “A full cleaning and inspection can eliminate blockages and improve how your system vents.”
• Liner or Venting Repairs: “If the liner is cracked or deteriorated, replacing it will ensure that gases get outside—not into your home.”
• Installing CO Detectors: “A CO detector isn’t optional. It’s your only real-time warning system, and every home should have them on each level.”
• Addressing House Pressure Issues: “We may need to adjust ventilation, introduce makeup air, or modify exhaust systems to balance air pressure and keep CO out.”

Handling Homeowner Pushback

They’ll say: “But we’ve never had a problem before.”

Your response should gently and guide the conversation and reframe their perspective:

“That’s exactly what makes CO so dangerous—it builds up slowly, and by the time you notice it, it might be too late. Just because nothing bad has happened yet doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. There is evidence that combustion byproducts are making their way into your home. The best time to fix this is before it becomes a crisis.”

They might hesitate: “How do I know this is really necessary?”

You respond with tactical empathy:

“I get it. You’ve used this system for years, and no one wants to hear there’s a safety issue. But if I were in your shoes, I’d want to know. This isn’t a ‘maybe’ problem—this is a ‘when’ problem. And the fix is simple if we do it now.”

Final Thoughts: Your Role as an Educator and Negotiator

You’re not just an inspector—you’re a trusted advisor. Your words, your delivery, and your ability to guide the conversation will determine whether the homeowner takes action or walks away from a serious hazard.

The way you communicate this risk can be the difference between a safe home and a future emergency. Speak with authority, show them the problem, and make the solution easy to say yes to.

Because in the end, this isn’t about fixing a system—it’s about saving lives.

Example Explanation to Include In Your Report

CARBON MONOXIDE—THE SILENT KILLER

Your fireplace, heating appliance, or chimney may seem to work just fine—but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Carbon monoxide (CO) spillage is a dangerous warning sign that something in your system isn’t functioning correctly. Unlike smoke, CO is invisible, odorless, and tasteless, making it nearly impossible to detect without specialized equipment.

Why Is CO Spillage a Problem?

A properly functioning chimney or venting system is designed to safely remove combustion gases, including CO, from your home. When something disrupts this process, those gases can leak into your living space, creating a serious health risk.

Common Causes of CO Spillage:

1. Blocked or Restricted Venting – Creosote buildup, debris, or structural damage can prevent proper airflow, forcing combustion gases back into the home.
2. Negative Air Pressure – High-efficiency exhaust fans, tightly sealed homes, or competing appliances (such as range hoods, dryers, or other HVAC systems) can pull air away from the chimney, causing backdrafting.
3. Liner or Chimney Damage – Cracks, deterioration, or improper installation can lead to leaks, allowing CO and other harmful gases to escape into walls or living areas.
4. Oversized or Undersized Chimneys – An improperly sized flue can lead to poor draft conditions, causing gases to spill rather than venting correctly.
5. Appliance Malfunction – Defective or improperly installed heating appliances can produce excessive CO or fail to vent correctly.

“But We Haven’t Had Any Issues…”

CO poisoning doesn’t always happen suddenly—it can accumulate at low levels over time, leading to chronic health problems before an acute event occurs. Symptoms like headaches, dizziness, nausea, and confusion are often mistaken for other illnesses. Worse yet, prolonged exposure can be fatal.

Prevention Is the Only Safe Option

The fact that CO is undetectable without specialized equipment makes it one of the most insidious dangers in a home. Proper maintenance, inspections, and ensuring your system meets minimum safety standards are the only ways to protect your household from this invisible threat.

As an inspection professional, one of your most critical responsibilities is educating homeowners about the risks associated with heating systems, particularly the often-overlooked hazard of thermal decomposition (aka pyrolysis). Many homeowners believe that because they have used their fireplace, heating appliance, or chimney for years without an issue, their system is safe. Your role is to help them understand why this assumption can be dangerously misleading.

Key Concepts to Explain to the Homeowner

1. What Is Thermal Decomposition?

Thermal decomposition is a slow process where combustible materials—like wood framing, insulation, or drywall—break down over time due to continuous or intermittent exposure to heat. Even if the temperature never reaches the textbook ignition point, repeated exposure as low as 170°F can weaken the material. When conditions are right temperatures as low as 170°F have been reliably documented to lead to ignition. That is why listed systems are tested. If they exceed 170°F in concealed areas they fail their listing tests.

Homeowners should understand that this process is gradual and may take years to become a problem, but when the right conditions align, a fire can start inside walls, ceilings, or hidden areas without any warning.

2. Why It’s a Concern

The most dangerous fires are the ones you never see coming. If materials around your heating appliance or chimney have been slowly degrading for years, it only takes a little extra heat—maybe from a larger fire, prolonged burning, or a new homeowner’s different usage habits—for ignition to occur.

At this point, show the homeowner any signs of heat damage, charring, or clearance violations that could contribute to thermal decomposition.

3. What Causes It?

Give homeowners relatable examples:

• Improper Installation – “If insulation or framing was installed too close to the fireplace, stove, or chimney, it can break down over time and may transfer heat to adjacent combustibles.”
• Liner or Chimney Damage – “A cracked or deteriorated chimney liner can let heat escape into areas not designed to for inspection or to contain combustion byproducts.”
• Oversized or Undersized Inserts – “If an insert was added that doesn’t match the original fireplace’s design or isn’t tested for that specific application, it might create excessive heat transfer to nearby combustibles.”
• Changes in Use – “Maybe the system was used infrequently before, but increased use, burning hotter fires, or using different fuel types can accelerate the problem.”

How to Present Your Findings

1. Keep It Factual

Homeowners may feel defensive or overwhelmed, especially if they have used their system for years without issue. Avoid scare tactics and instead focus on the facts:

“This isn’t about whether there’s been a fire before—this is about how heat exposure over time can lower the ignition temperature of materials around your system.”

2. Show, Don’t Just Tell

Use visual evidence whenever possible:

• Photos of damage – Show cracks, charring, or clearance violations.
• Infrared imaging (if available) – Demonstrate heat transfer issues.
• Code references or manufacturer specifications – Point out the required clearances and how the system compares.

3. Offer Clear Next Steps

Homeowners need to know what action to take:

• Further Inspection: “A Level III chimney inspection can determine if there’s hidden damage or clearance issues behind the walls.”
• Repairs or Modifications: “The liner needs replacement, damaged materials need to be removed or replaced, or additional protection may be required to bring the system up to meet or exceed minimum standards.”
• System Replacement: “Where significant thermal decomposition or charring has occurred, continued use is not recommended, and replacing or redesigning the system is the best course of action.”

Handling Homeowner Pushback

Homeowners often respond with: “But we’ve never had a problem before.”

Your response should emphasize prevention: “That’s exactly why thermal decomposition is so dangerous—it takes years to develop, but once the materials are weakened, it only takes a little extra heat to cause ignition. This is why professional inspections are so important. We’re catching issues before they lead to a fire.”

Final Thoughts: Your Role as an Educator

Your job isn’t just to inspect—it’s to inform and empower homeowners to make safe choices. By explaining thermal decomposition clearly, showing them evidence, and providing actionable next steps, you can help them understand and address this hidden fire risk before it becomes a disaster.

Homeowners trust your expertise. The more clearly and confidently you communicate the risks, the more likely they are to take the necessary steps to ensure their home is safe.

Example Text to Include In Your Reports

If used combustibles too near one or more appliances, fireboxes, chimneys, or systems may overheat and potentially ignite, leading to a structure fire.

THE HIDDEN DANGER OF THERMAL DEGRADATION
You’ve used your fireplace, heating appliance, chimney, or vent for years without a problem—so it must be safe, right? That’s the trap. Thermal degradation (pyrolysis) is a slow, silent threat. Combustible materials and insulation too close to a heat source—whether a fireplace, stove, furnace, chimney, or vent—can break down over time with exposure to temperatures as low as 170°F. As this happens, they require less and less heat to ignite. If minimum standards are not met and thermal degradation has occurred a routine fire or normal operation could be enough to start a hidden blaze inside your walls.

What’s Makes A System Hazardous?
1) Bad Installation: Combustibles or insulation placed too close to the appliance, chimney, or vent.
2) Hidden Damage: Cracks or damage in the liner, firebox, or venting allow heat to escape, accelerating thermal degradation.

When the conditions are right, a fire can start where you’ll never see it—until it’s too late.

“But We’ve Never Had a Problem Before…”
That’s exactly why fires from thermal degradation are so dangerous—they take years to develop. Maybe you’ve only used your appliance occasionally, but what happens when usage increases? What if a new owner burns hotter, longer, or more often? That unseen damage doesn’t go away. It just waits.

Heating systems don’t get safer with time—they get riskier as the system itself, or the materials around it, degrade. The only way to control that risk is to take action before a fire happens.

The following sections were updated (with updates in bold) in the 2024 code book. Please review these at your earliest convenience. Note this may not be all inclusive:

Chapter 10

• R1001.11 Fireplace clearance
• R1003.18 Chimney clearances
• R1004.4 Unvented gas log heaters (the change is actually about fireplace inserts)
• R1005.9 Factory-built chimney offsets
• R1006.2 Exterior air intake

Chapter 18

• No changes noted.

Chapter 24

• G2401.7 (304.1) General
• G2407.12 (304.12) Protection from fumes and gases
• G2411.1 (310.1) Pipe and tubing other than CSST
• G2411.3 (310.3) Arc-resistant CSST
• G2414.6 (403.6) Workmanship and defects
• G2414.9 (403.9) Metallic piping joints and fittings
• G2415.8.2 (404.8.2) Conduit with both ends terminating indoors
• G2415.14.2 (404.14.2) Conduit with both ends terminating indoors
• G2417.1.2 (406.1.2) Repairs and additions
• G2417.4.1 (406.4.1) Test pressure
• G2417.5.1 (406.5.1) Detection methods
• G2417.7.3.1 (406.7.3.1) Abandoned fuel gas piping
• G2420.5.3 (409.5.3) Located at manifold
• G2422.1.4 (411.1.6) Unions
• G2425.7.3 (501.7.3) Connection to masonry fireplace flue
• G2427.5.8 (503.5.9) Cleanouts
• G2427.14 9503.14) Automatic vent dampers

Commenting for the 2027 Edition – Group A Codes (including the IBC – E, IBC – FS, IFC, IFGC, IMC, IPC, IPSDC, IRC – M-Chapters 12-23, IRC – P-Chapters 25-33, ISPSC, IWUIC) closed January 8, 2024. No comments were submitted by me or on behalf of the NCSG as I had not yet been appointed.

Commenting for the 2025 – Group B Codes (including the Admin, IBC – G, IBC – S, IEBC, IgCC (Ch. 1 & App M), IPMC, IRC – B-Chapters 1-10, IZC) opens October 15, 2024 and closes January 10, 2025.

In 2026 comments from prior years for both Group A & B Codes will be heard and voted on by the appropriate committee. Public comment hearings will take place as necessary.

Please send any suggestions for comments, issues, or conflicts to dan@freemanfire.com and I can add them to the list for commenting during the next comment period. I will reach out regarding any ideas for possible comments submitted.

***Daniel A. Freeman is a member of the TC-0103 and TC-0127 Technical Committees as a Commercial-Industrial User, an official NCSG representative to the ICC organization, and a member of the NFPA211 committee.

This will begin a routine of posting changes made to notes and informing you of any new notes created. The full content of the pre-written notes will not be posted, but only the titles of the notes changed or added.

Wishing you continued success in 2024!

Notes added (new):

• FB0291FIREBOX: Minimum factory-built fireplace framing dimensions or sizing not met
• FB1522HORIZONTAL: Horizontal wall penetration improperly performed

Notes updated:

• FB0620DOOR/GLASS: Unlisted/aftermarket/improper fireplace doors
• FB0800APPLIANCE: Clearances to the appliance body not met in the chase or wall cavity
• FB0270FIREBOX: Air cooled firebox channels present
• FB0280FIREBOX: Air cooled firebox channels compromised/modified/altered/blocked
• FB0290FIREBOX: Updated title of note from “Fireplace opening clearances NOT met” to “Fireplace opening clearances NOT met to mantel, surround, other combustibles”
• FB0291CHIMNEY: Improperly sealed factory-built chimney or vent system
• FB0800APPLIANCE: Clearances to the appliance body not met in the chase or wall
• FB0914IDENTIFICATION: Gas Insert is present in a factory-built fireplace
• FB0960CHIMNEY: Existing piping not approved by fireplace manufacturer or approved pipe improperly modified
• FB1170CAP: Chimney or vent termination clearance to combustibles not met
• FB1521WALL THIMBLE: Required wall thimble missing changed to “FB1521HORIZONTAL: Required wall thimble missing