Metal Chimneys, Stovepipes Or Flues
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Kitchen Small Appliances & Housewares · CPSC Code 373
Down 71% over 5 years
The verdict
Metal Chimneys, Stovepipes Or Flues carry a danger score of 23/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 365 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 71% over the last five years.
- 23/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 365
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 0.8%
- end in hospital admission
- 55-64
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 373 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 23/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for metal chimneys, stovepipes or flues - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume365 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)0.8%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-71%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Metal Chimneys, Stovepipes Or Flues (CPSC product code 373, in the Kitchen Small Appliances & Housewares category) generate an estimated 365 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 7,301 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 23/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 71% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2007 (820 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2023 (17 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for metal chimneys, stovepipes or flues is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 1,640 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by anoxia to the all parts body (1,183 cases). The 55-64 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 1,322 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 0.8% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how metal chimneys, stovepipes or flues fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 239 | 178 | |
| 5-14 | 600 | 102 | |
| 15-24 | 523 | 214 | |
| 25-34 | 767 | 153 | |
| 35-44 | 1,047 | 245 | |
| 45-54 | 935 | 170 | |
| 55-64 | 992 | 330 | |
| 65-74 | 354 | 162 | |
| 75+ | 289 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| All Parts Body | Anoxia | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Hand | Burns, Thermal | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Wrist | Laceration | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Upper Leg | Burns, Thermal | |
| Toe | Laceration | |
| Face | Burns, Thermal |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
38 YOM C/O NAUSEA/LIGHTHEADED AND SHORTNESS OF BREATH, CONCERN FOR POSSIBLE CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE AFTER SOME STOVE PIPES STARTED TO BURN ON TOP OF HIS WOOD STOVE AT HOME NO FD, CARBON MONOXIDE NL DX NAUSEA/DYSPNEA, ANXIETY RX WITH HYPERVENTILATION
53 YOF WITH LEFT FOOT PAIN. SHE HIT HER FOOT ON A STOVEPIPE ABOUT 3 DAYS AGO. +INCREASED SWELLING AND PAIN SINCE THEN. DX FOOT CONTUSION
34YOM, ACCIDENTALLY CUT RIGHT DISTAL LATERAL VENTRAL WRIST BY ?EDGE FLUE SIX HOURS PRIOR TO ARRIVAL DX: LACERATION OF RIGHT WRIST
2YOM PRESENTS TO THE ED FOR EVALUATION OF RIGHT FOREARM LACERATION. PATIENT WAS REPORTEDLY REACHING INTO A TRASH CAN AND ACCIDENTALLY CUT HIMSELF ON A CAN DX: RIGHT FOREARM LACERATION
57YOM C/O L EYE PAIN , STS WAS TRYING TO TAKE APART A STOVE PIPE, FELT SOMETHING GET INTO L EYE DX L EYE CORNEAL ABRASION
40YOM PRESENTS TO ED W/ RT THUMB LACERATION. PT WAS MOVING STOVEPIPE W/O GLOVES ON WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY CUT THE DORSAL SIDE OF HIS RT THUMB OVER THE IP JOINT. DX: LACERATION OF RT THUMB W/O FOREIGNBODY W/O DAMAGE TO NAIL
21MOF PT HERE WITH FOREHEAD LACERATION AFTER PLAYING, FALLING FORWARD, AND LANDING ON A METAL PIECE OF THE CHIMNEY, NO LOC. DX FOREHEAD LACERATION
74 YOM LACERATION TO HEAD AFTER STRIKING HEAD ON A STOVEPIPE DX: LACERATION SCALP
65YOM CLEANING A STOVE PIPE WHEN IT FELL AND LACERATED HIS SCALP BEHIND LEFT EAR. DX: LACERATION OF SCALP.
NOSE LAC/58YOM WAS REPLACING A CHIMNEY PIPE WHEN HE TURNED AROUND & WALKED INTO ANOTHER PIPE MADE OF SHEET METAL AND CUT THE BRIDGE OF HIS NOSE.
59 YOF WITH HEADACHE S/P EXPOSURE TO GAS LEAK YESTERDAY FROM HER STOVE PIPE. STATES SHE WAS EXPOSED TO CARBON MONOXIDE, + HEADACHE, DX EXPOSURE NATURAL GAS, HEADACHE
63 YOF WITH RIGHT FOOT PAIN AFTER SHE DROPPED A METAL STOVEPIPE ON IT LAST NIGHT DX RIGHT DORSAL FOOT CONTUSION
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to metal chimneys, stovepipes or flues on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are metal chimneys, stovepipes or flues?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, metal chimneys, stovepipes or flues have a danger score of 23/100 (low risk). An estimated 365 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from metal chimneys, stovepipes or flues?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 1,640 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from metal chimneys, stovepipes or flues increasing or decreasing?
Down 71% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for metal chimneys, stovepipes or flues injuries?
The 55-64 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 1,322 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by metal chimneys, stovepipes or flues?
Of all ER visits involving metal chimneys, stovepipes or flues, approximately 0.8% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (99.2%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with metal chimneys, stovepipes or flues?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Kitchen Small Appliances & Housewares
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 23/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 55-64 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
