The fireplace at the end of the kitchen was not in use and the styrofoam cooler top and slice of fiberglass insulation was not precisely an air tight seal. We’d occasionally get condensation running down the flue from air conditioning meeting hot attic air.
We decided it had to go to make room for an expanded pantry. I can tell you that a 20 foot brick chimney and large brick façade is a LOT of weight. A few weekends, some handy work the back side of a splitting maul, several dust masks, and a whole lot of sweat and it is going away.
The boards we put in place did a good job of containing the debris early on although it did help it back up faster. 
The top of a styrofoam cooler and one piece of insulation wedged against the roof line does not make an appropriate cap for a chimney. 
This far in, I was already sore. What have I gotten into. 
The flue of the chimney worked as a great debris shoot to let us work from the attic. 
The board helped to contain the bricks when we dropped them down the flue. Amazing how much force a bouncing brick can exert. 
We had considered removing just the facade and walling this over. We got the idea that if the fireplace was gone, it would make for one nice pantry. 
Switching up to a big frickin’ hammer helped move this along quite well.
