Service area · Ocean County

Chimney Services in Lacey, NJ

Lacey runs from Barnegat Bay into the Pine Barrens, and in April 2025 the Jones Road Wildfire burned near the township. If you burn wood, what happens to the ashes after the fire matters as much as what happens in the flue.

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Chimney profile
What the numbers suggest for chimneys in Lacey
Hot ashes and a wooded yard
What the chimney contributes
The 2025 Jones Road Wildfire
Local questions
Sources

Chimney profile: Lacey

Census estimates for 12,711 housing units (11,338 occupied).

When homes were built

Before 1940 1%
1940–59 8%
1960–79 36%
1980–99 36%
2000 or later 18%

How occupied homes are heated

Utility gas 85%
Fuel oil 1%
Electricity 10%
Propane 2%
Wood 0.4%
Other or none 2%

Type of housing

Single-family, detached 96%
Single-family, attached 1%
2–4 units 1%
5+ units 2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, tables B25034, B25040 and B25024, via Census Reporter. Estimates have margins of error; small categories are approximate.

What the numbers suggest for chimneys in Lacey

Census estimates put 36% of Lacey's 12,711 housing units in the 1960s and 1970s and another 36% in 1980 through 1999, with 18% built since 2000. Fireplaces from those decades include site-built masonry fireplaces with clay tile flues and factory-built fireplaces with metal chimneys. Many of the older ones are now past 45 years of use, an age when firebox joints, dampers and crowns deserve a closer look.

Of the 11,338 occupied homes, about 85% heat with utility gas, roughly 2% with propane and 10% with electric heat. Only about 0.4% of homes rely mainly on wood, so in most homes a wood fire is likely an occasional event in the fireplace. Occasional fires still produce hot ashes, and in a house that burns only a few times a year the routine for dealing with them is easy to forget.

About 96% of units are detached houses, each with its own yard, deck or shed to plan around. The estimates describe the township as a whole and do not tell you anything about your own chimney.

Hot ashes and a wooded yard

Ashes that look dead can hold live coals. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue in Virginia tells residents not to dump fireplace ashes for at least four days, and to keep them out of wooded areas when they are finally emptied. The U.S. Fire Administration's fireplace safety card calls for a lidded metal container for ashes, placed outdoors at least 10 feet from the home. New Jersey's Division of Fire Safety adds wetting the remnants before storing them in a lidded metal container outside and away from any structure.

In a yard full of pine needles and leaf litter, a few practical habits follow from that guidance:

Pick the spot before the season. A bare patch of soil, gravel or pavement at least 10 feet from the house, deck, shed and fence, with no dry leaves underneath or around it.
Keep the bucket metal and covered. Never a cardboard box, paper bag or plastic bin, and never in the garage or on the deck.
Wet, wait, then empty. Dampen the ashes, close the lid and leave the bucket for several days. Empty it on a calm day, away from the woods.
Watch dry, windy weeks. If a fire is not needed, skip it when conditions are dry and gusty.

Our full guide to getting rid of fireplace ashes safely covers stoves, ash pans and final disposal in more detail.

What the chimney contributes

Ashes are only half of the ember picture. Sparks and burning fragments can also leave through the top of the chimney, which is why a cap with an intact spark screen matters in a wooded setting. A screen that has rusted through, been pushed in by a falling branch or clogged with debris no longer does its job. See chimney cap types for the options.

Inside the system, the most important control is keeping creosote from building up, since a chimney fire can throw burning material out of the top. During a chimney cleaning we check the cap and screen, the crown, the flue and the firebox, and the photos and notes come to you before any repair goes on the calendar. Our guide to preventing chimney fires covers the burning habits that matter.

The 2025 Jones Road Wildfire

On April 23, 2025, the Governor's office declared a State of Emergency for the Jones Road Wildfire in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area near Lacey, Ocean and Barnegat Townships. The state's announcement estimated 8,500 acres burned, reported that more than 1,000 structures were threatened and that more than 25,000 residents lost power, and noted evacuations in the area. The release did not state a cause, and nothing here suggests one. The numbers show how close woodland and homes can be in this part of Ocean County.

Local questions

How long should ashes sit before I throw them out?

Fire safety guidance varies, but Fairfax County Fire and Rescue recommends at least four days. Keep them wet in a covered metal container outdoors until then, and do not dump them in the woods.

Can I put a cooled ash bucket in the garage?

No. Fire safety agencies advise keeping the container outside, away from the house and other structures, because coals can stay hot longer than they appear to.

Does a chimney cap stop sparks completely?

A cap with a spark screen reduces how much burning material leaves the flue, but it does not make burning on a dry, windy day risk-free. Keep the screen intact and clear, and keep the flue clean.

Our fireplace sees just a handful of fires each winter. Do we still need a chimney inspection?

Yes. The U.S. Fire Administration advises having the chimney inspected and cleaned each year. Light use means less creosote, but caps, crowns and flues still wear and nests can block the flue.

Sources

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