How To Build A Safe Fire This Winter
The scene is beautiful: Family and friends gathered in front of a beautiful fire, toasting to old memories, and creating new ones. However, things can turn ugly quickly. Especially, if you don’t know how to safely build and maintain a fire. There are several ways to make sure that your beautiful fireplace scene stays just that way.
Maintain Your Fireplace
The first thing to do to make sure that you have a safe, stable fire is to be proactive! Have your chimney and fireplace inspected and cleaned on an annual basis. When you’re looking for a chimney sweep service, it is important to hire someone who is Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) certified. This ensures that your chimney inspection is held to the highest standard of quality in the industry. When you hire the qualified technicians at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service, you’ll be getting just that. The staff at Santa’s Friend has over 26 years of experience. In addition, they use the latest techniques and technology, ensuring that things are fixed promptly and cleaned thoroughly.
How to Light Your Fire
There’s more to lighting a safe fire than just throwing some wood down and lighting a match. According to the Martha Stewart website, start by opening your dampers all the way. Crumpled newspaper makes a great fire starter. So, crumple some up and put it under the grate, then top this with strips of newspaper. Add eight or so pieces of kindling on top. Afterwards, add a few thin, split logs to top the kindling off. If you stack this too tightly, air won’t be able to circulate. If this happens, you will have trouble starting the fire. It’s best to keep these layers loose. Light the tinder, then, when the fire is burning steadily, add a couple of small logs and one large log. If you add too much too soon, you risk smothering your fire. Worse yet, you might get a larger blaze that is difficult to control.
After It’s Lit
After you have the fire burning, there are other things to consider to make sure that things stay safe. Make sure that there is nothing flammable near the fireplace, including books, toys, furniture, or curtains – any of these can easily catch a spark that cause a fire that can put your home and loved ones in danger.
Healthychildren.org tells us to be sure that the fire is completely out before going to bed or going out for the evening. Absolutely never leave little children alone in a room with a burning fire. Also, don’t leave matches or fire starters out where children can get a hold of them.
It is also very important to make sure that your smoke detector batteries are charged. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, you should have a smoke detector installed on each floor of the house. This includes the basement, as well as in every bedroom, and outside every sleeping area. Check your smoke detector batteries once a month, and change the batteries at least twice a year.
Call Santa’s Friend Chimney Service
If you have questions or concerns on fireplace safety, call Santa’s Friend Chimney Service at 601-854-7563. Their qualified professionals have the answers to help keep your home safe and worry-free.