There was a problem with our ventilation.
I woke up to the smell of smoke in my house.
The first thing I thought was that the house was on fire, but I couldn’t detect any flames.
I then realized the smoke was coming down the chimney and into the house. Something had blocked the flue in the chimney, and the smoke from the fireplace was coming into the house instead of up the chimney. I opened the windows and doors; then grabbed a coat because it cold very quickly. I called the HVAC company and told them I had a ventilation problem. They asked about the furnace, and I had to tell them it was from the fireplace and not the furnace. They gave the number of a chimney sweep that lived locally and said they could do more than the HVAC company. Once I got in touch with the chimney sweep company, I had to wait two hours for someone to arrive. Once the chimney sweep arrived, he made sure the fire was out in the fireplace. I had to turn the furnace on to keep from freezing. He started put big brushes up the chimney and adding more sections until he found where the block was. I couldn’t believe how dirty he was by the time he had the chimney cleaned. He told me there was so much soot inside, it was surprising I hadn’t had a chimney fire and suggested I have the chimney cleaned yearly. Once he left, I got a fire in the fireplace, and I had heat again. I preferred my fireplace over the furnace, and I heeded his warning about the chimney.