Today inspection I came across a wood burning fireplace with the fire box inside completely painted black. It was a functioning fireplace but the home owner used candles instead.
I’m just curious, if any of you would comment on the paint used or a disclaimer not knowing if paint is flammable or concealing a defect.
That would certainly spark my interest as to why they chose to use candles in lieu of wood. 
Working for a masonry supplier for 13 years I have seen this many times. Firebrick is typically tan or yellow in color. After using the firebox for awhile you get black smoke stains in areas where the fire is, many homeowners don’t like this look so they paint the firebox black for aesthetic purposes. If you are concerned about damage to the firebox shine a flashlight inside, that usually shows visable cracks or past repairs.
There is such a thing as firebox paint that can withstand temps of 1200 F. Who knows what paint may be in that fireplace though…
The firebox was clean and I could see the mortar joints and bricks. It did not appeared to been repaired, just painted over. I just made note that the inside of the firebox was recently painted and to ask the home owner the history and reason for painting. Without knowing the type of paint I decided to leave it at that and move on.
