Reducing Fire Hazards
When you own a home with a fireplace, you must take on a few extra responsibilities, such as cleaning up ashes, storing firewood, and, most importantly, protecting yourself, your family, and your home from fire hazards that are involved with a fireplace. While a roaring fire can be beautiful and relaxing, fire is a potentially dangerous element. If you do not take certain precautions, you could find yourself experiencing an accidental fire, carbon monoxide poisoning, and other hazardous situations. Our staff at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service places great value on fire safety, and we feel strongly about promoting fire safety tips to our customers. We would like to share with you some ways to reduce fire hazards so that you can safely enjoy cozy and warm fires this year.
Be careful about what you burn in your fireplace.
Santa’s Friend Chimney Service recommends that you only burn seasoned firewood in your fireplace. This type of wood has been allowed to dry for at least six months after it has been cut. When you use seasoned firewood, you will have longer-lasting and cleaner-burning fires that produce less smoke. You should never burn treated or painted wood, paper, or anything else in your fireplace, according to HouseLogic.
Keep the area surrounding your fireplace clear from combustibles.
To prevent an accidental fire being ignited from hot sparks and embers jumping from your fireplace, keep flammable items like furniture and curtains at least six feet away from the hearth.
Place a metal fireplace screen in front of the hearth.
In order to keep kids and pets from getting too close to the fireplace, you should install a mesh metal screen in front of your fireplace. Be sure the screen is secure so that it cannot be easily knocked over.
Have your chimney professionally cleaned and inspected once a year.
This professional chimney maintenance service guarantees your chimney is free from damage and other problems that could make it unsafe to use. It will also greatly reduce your risk of experiencing a chimney fire as all of the accumulated creosote deposits will be removed from the interior of your chimney.
Install smoke and carbon monoxide alarm detectors throughout your home.
These lifesaving alarms should be installed in the same room as your fireplace, outside each bedroom, and on every floor in your home. Make a habit of changing the batteries in these alarms when you change your clocks in the spring and fall for Daylight Savings Time.
Have a question about reducing fire hazards? Contact us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to learn more about fireplace safety recommendations for your home.