Although Chicago is known as the Windy City, it is in fact less windy than many other major American cities. Average wind speeds range from 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) in late summer to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) in spring months.
A flue is a duct, pipe, or opening in a chimney for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, water heater, boiler, or generator to the outdoors.
A fireplace damper, usually located in the throat of a masonry chimney just above the firebox, is a device that is meant to seal your fireplace shut when it is not in use. This is necessary so that heated air from your home will not escape up the chimney when the fireplace is not being used.