Those who have a fireplace or wood burner

[Bucky]

Here in the states, it's winter time.  With that comes some warm, crackling fires in our fireplaces or wood burners.

I just wanted to caution you all to be careful as you are building the fires in your fireplace.

Make sure the flue is open before starting a fire.  This seems like a trivial point, but you would be amazed at the number of people who forget to open it before starting a fire!

Don't try and make a BIG fire, start small and add more wood as needed.

You should have your fireplace inspected yearly and cleaned every 2-3 years.

A gal at work today was telling us that the other day they built a fire in the fireplace as the family was getting all together to celebrate Christmas.  It was a small fire.  So, the granddaughter got a big rip, roaring fire going.

They had commented that it seemed kinda smokey in the house.  (I'm not sure if they had the flue open or not).

Next thing they know, there's a knock on the door saying the roof of the house is on fire!!   

After the fact, they found out that there was a nest in the chimney and the big fire didn't help either.

It seems almost nightly there are reports of house fires on the evening news.   

Please be careful when you have fires in your home, whether they be a fire in the fireplace or candles burning in your home.  Duchess knows from her daughter's experience about a burning candle being knocked over and starting a house fire.

Bucky

[lighthouse33]

There are caps that you can install on chimneys that will get keep birds, squirrels etc. out.  We have them.  All of our fireplaces are now propane but we still have to open the flue before each use.  Also, it is a good idea to have a chimeny inspection and cleaning once every six months or once a year. 

[Duchess]

That's right Bucky. We all have had a wake up call. Right now we all are leary about candles.

I hope everyone will be careful, especially if you have pets and children.

Be Safe.

Duchess

[Pisces24]

Watch out for the ash/Creasote build up on the sides of the chimney too. That can catch on fire. No sure how good those logs are you can use for that.