Smoke Stacks Inc

What could i do to put some heat into my home in an emergency if the power goes out?

Obviously, if you are looking at burning wood, a natural fireplace is not going to do a lot to heat a decent amount of your house if the power were to go out for an extended period because it is only 7-15% efficient. A wood stove would be the next best back up plan, however, it is hard to justify the cost of a wood stove if you are only going to use it for emergencies. My recommendation would be for you to invest into a barrel stove that you vent up your masonry chimney in the basement. All you need is a 50-55 gallon metal burn barrel that people use to burn there trash in, a "Vogelzang Barrel Stove Kit", and some 6" black stove pipe and elbows. This will allow you to build an inexpensive wood burning stove in your home for under $100 in case of emergency.

Its below freezing out, there is no snow on roof, and a customer complains of water leakage around chimney. What can it be?

If the moisture that is bleeding through is discolored, and looks rusty brown, It is most likely the furnace and/or water heater exhaust that is condensing in the chimney and bleeding through the masonry. I know most of you have heard me say this repeatedly, but masonry built chimney's, cannot keep up with todays energy efficient appliances. In this case, the chimney will most likely need a new, appropriate sized liner, for whatever heating appliances are venting up it.