--- title: "Flames Rolling Out of the Pizza Oven Mouth or Chimney: Causes and Fixes" description: "Flames coming out of pizza oven openings means fire past the places it belongs: rolling out of the mouth toward a canopy, showing behind the control panel…" url: "https://pizzaovenrepair.center/problems/pizza-oven-flames-where-they-should-not-be/" --- # Flames Rolling Out of the Pizza Oven Mouth or Chimney Flames coming out of pizza oven openings means fire past the places it belongs: rolling out of the mouth toward a canopy, showing behind the control panel, burning on a greasy deck, or roaring from the chimney top. ## Gas smell? Burner off, gas shut, step outside Flame outside its place is an emergency until it settles. Gas closed if safely reachable, people back, 911 if it reaches a canopy, a roof or the building or keeps going. After it is out and cold, the oven stays unfired until the flue, the burner and the shields have been inspected. ## What it usually means. In a working pizza oven the fire has a home. In a wood-fired dome it lives at the back or the side of the floor and its flame licks across the ceiling before the heat and smoke leave through the flue at the front. In a gas oven the burner flame stays in its channel under or beside the stone. When flame escapes, something upset that balance. A fire built too large pushes a tongue of flame out of the mouth and up into the canopy or the soffit above it. Creosote baked into a flue can light and turn into a chimney fire, heard as a roar and seen as sparks from the cap. Delayed ignition on a gas burner can puff flame out around the panel, and years of flour and grease on a deck can catch. The response is the same for all of them: close the gas if it can be reached safely, keep everyone well back, and call 911 if flame reaches a canopy, a roof, the building or will not settle. Water thrown on a hot floor or a grease flare does more harm than good, and nobody goes up on a roof to look at a chimney. The 6 causes, cheapest first Answer these first 01 Is the flame coming out of the mouth, from the chimney top, or from behind the panel or under the deck? 02 Was a large load of wood just added, or was the door pushed shut on a live fire? 03 When was the flue last swept, and does the oven burn wood daily? 04 On a gas oven, was there a pause and a whoomp before the burner lit? 05 Now that it has settled, is anything above the oven scorched, blistered or melted? ## Check these before you book. Flames coming out of pizza oven: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything. 01 Close the gas at the shutoff or the tank only if you can do it without passing close to the flame. 02 Keep everyone well back from the oven mouth, and call 911 at once if flame reaches a canopy, the roof, the building or will not settle. 03 Add no more wood, and leave the door off a burning dome; shutting it on a live fire can push flame and smoke out. ### Also worth checking - Throw no water into a hot oven or on a grease flare: it spreads burning fat and can split a floor or a dome. - Never climb onto a roof to look at a chimney fire; after everything is out and cold, book a visit before the oven is fired again. ## The causes, cheapest first. 6 things flames rolling out of the pizza oven mouth or chimney turns out to be, from fire built too big for the dome to canopy clearance too tight above the mouth. [The cost guide](https://pizzaovenrepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 no repair ### Fire built too big for the dome A fresh armful of dry wood on a hot floor can send flame out past the arch. Smaller splits, added one or two at a time, keep the fire inside the dome where it belongs. No repair: check it yourself 2. 02 low ### Flour and grease caught on a neglected deck Burnt flour, cornmeal and cheese drips build a crust that can light on a hot deck. The fire is let die, the oven is cooled, and a cleaning visit scrapes the decks and the burner box. [Fixed by pizza oven cleaning and safety inspection](https://pizzaovenrepair.center/services/pizza-oven-cleaning-and-safety-inspection/) [On a commercial deck oven](https://pizzaovenrepair.center/types/commercial-deck-oven-repair/) 3. 03 moderate ### Creosote lit inside the flue Wet wood and smoky low fires coat the chimney with tar that can catch as a chimney fire. After it is out and cold, the flue is inspected and swept, and the cap and liner are checked for damage. [Fixed by pizza oven door and chimney repair](https://pizzaovenrepair.center/services/pizza-oven-door-and-chimney-repair/) [On a wood-fired pizza oven](https://pizzaovenrepair.center/types/wood-fired-pizza-oven-repair/) 4. 04 moderate ### Delayed ignition behind the panel A weak igniter or a dirty burner lets gas collect before it lights, and the flame rolls out of the burner box. The igniter, burner and valve are checked before the oven is lit again. [Fixed by pizza oven burner and igniter repair](https://pizzaovenrepair.center/services/pizza-oven-burner-and-igniter-repair/) 5. 05 moderate to highest ### Heat shield or panel insulation burned through When a heat shield warps or insulation falls away, burner flame can reach wiring and panel parts that were never meant to be near it. The shield and any heat-damaged wires are replaced. [Fixed by pizza oven door and chimney repair](https://pizzaovenrepair.center/services/pizza-oven-door-and-chimney-repair/) 6. 06 varies ### Canopy clearance too tight above the mouth A soffit, pergola beam or canopy built close above an oven mouth scorches with every busy night. The technician measures what the maker asks for and says what must change before the next firing. [Fixed by pizza oven cleaning and safety inspection](https://pizzaovenrepair.center/services/pizza-oven-cleaning-and-safety-inspection/) ## What else it could be. Most often confused with pizza oven smoke filling the room instead of leaving by the flue, then pizza oven gas smell near the burner or supply line: act first. [All problems](https://pizzaovenrepair.center/problems/) Gas, fire or smoke at the oven ### Pizza Oven Smoke Filling the Room Instead of Leaving by the Flue 6 causes Gas, fire or smoke at the oven ### Pizza Oven Gas Smell Near the Burner or Supply Line: Act First 6 causes ### Black Soot Streaks on the Pizza Oven Arch and Front Face 6 causes Gas, fire or smoke at the oven ### Burning or Hot Wiring Smell From an Electric Pizza Oven 6 causes ## The makes it happens on. 16 makes on this site; flames rolling out of the pizza oven mouth or chimney can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page. [All 16 brands](https://pizzaovenrepair.center/brands/) ## Flames Rolling Out of the Pizza Oven Mouth or Chimney, where we come out. 9 metros, each with its own page. 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A chimney fire roars like a blower, throws sparks or flame from the cap and can make the flue pipe glow or tick loudly. A normal fire keeps its flame in the dome and sends out smoke, not sparks. ### Should the door go on to smother a fire that has flared out of the mouth? Not on a fire that is still burning hard. The door can force flame and smoke back out around its edges; let the fire burn down with no more wood added, and call 911 if it threatens anything. ### Can the pizza oven be used the next night after a chimney fire? Not until the flue has been inspected. The heat of a chimney fire can crack a liner or loosen a cap, and the next fire would then vent where it should not. ### What is a safe gap between the oven mouth and a canopy above it? It depends on the model and on what the canopy is made of, and each maker gives its own number. The installation manual and the technician's measurement decide it, not a rule of thumb. --- **[Read on the site: Flames Rolling Out of the Pizza Oven Mouth or Chimney: Causes and Fixes](https://pizzaovenrepair.center/problems/pizza-oven-flames-where-they-should-not-be/)** **[Book a visit with PizzaOvenRepair.center](https://pizzaovenrepair.center/schedule/)**