Toxie Draft Damper

Pushed the heavy basement door shut. Quiet. Heat from the cast-iron boiler rolled across the concrete. But the flue pipe draft damper was rattling loose on its hinge. A faint puff of gray soot leaked along the seam. Unacceptable. I propped my mop staff upright against the damp brick wall. Stepped close. Clamped my fingers around the pitted iron lever. Hot metal bit my palm. I shoved the lever forward, levering the iron plate until the notch caught with a dry snap. Draft sealed. Soot stopped. The flue pulled clean up the chimney pipe. I sat back on the overturned wooden crate. Furnace hums steady now. Tromaville is quiet.