[Gordon Booth]

I remember chimneys setting on fire. I think the soot may have had a lot of tar in it, once they got going you could here a gentle roar-and the big lumps of glowing soot dropping down into the fireplace and the room.
The smoke outside was horrific.
I remember fire engines coming to put them out- heaven knows what the mess was like in the house when they'd poured water down the chimneys!
As Keith says, some people used to set them on fire regularly to burn off the built up soot before it got too bad.