Santa's Friend Chimney Service Blog

Reducing Fire Hazards This Winter

It’s time to think about safety! Fire safety, that is. During the winter months, one of the nicest things to do is to snuggle down in front of a cozy fire. Unfortunately, too often a cozy night can turn into a nightmare. Consequently, because of unsafe fire practices, a chimney fire can destroy much more than just your fireplace. So this winter, make sure that you are taking safety precautions. This ensures many safe, happy nights in your warm home.

Fire Hazards

The big fear that many fireplace owners have is the fear of chimney fire. Roaring flames, smoke billowing out of the chimney, and loss of property. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to happen. How can you greatly reduce the possibility of this situation? Simply follow a few preventative measures.

First, inspect the room around the fireplace. Make sure that there is nothing flammable stored too close to the fireplace. This includes pillows, blankets, books, toys, or even furniture. If placed too close to the fire, these things could easily catch a spark that could ignite into a bigger fire. Make sure matches and lighters are kept out of the reach of children. In addition, educate your children on how to use fire extinguishers.

Fire Extinguishers and Smoke Detectors

This little tool can be vital for saving your home. If you’re wondering how many fire extinguishers you should have, the National Fire Protection Association recommends you have one on every floor. Even if you can’t completely extinguish the fire, it may help you contain the fire until the fire department arrives. Be sure that you take no risks, however. Being safe yourself is more important than material goods. So, if you feel like the fire is getting out of control, get yourself and your loved ones out of your home immediately! In fact, a fire plan is absolutely the most important thing you can do to protect your family in case of a fire. Make sure that everyone knows how to get out of the house and where to meet in case of a fire, and practice this plan often.

Another important protective device is a smoke detector. According to the U.S. Fire Administration website, you should have a smoke detector installed on each floor of the house (including the basement), in each bedroom, and outside of every sleeping area. Your smoke detector is only as good as its batteries, however. So always make sure that you check your smoke detector batteries once a month and replace the batteries every six months.

Who To Call

Most chimney fires aren’t as dramatic as you might think. In fact, in many cases the homeowner might not even be aware that a chimney fire has taken place. Unfortunately, even a small chimney fire can cause damage to the structure of your chimney. This internal damage can only be detected by a knowledgeable professional like the inspectors and sweeps at Santa’s Friend Chimney Sweep. This is why it’s so important to have your chimney inspected and cleaned on a yearly basis. These inspectors can detect structural damage and creosote build-up and can recommend whatever repairs or cleaning may be necessary to keep your fireplace running safely and efficiently!

Common Tools of Fire Safety

A smoke detector designed to detect both smoke and carbon monoxide is far and away the most important tool of fire safety. Anyone who has forgotten to open a damper and then walked into another room knows that these sensitive alarms detect smoke long before our noses do. Odorless invisible carbon monoxide is even more dangerous, and it can build up in poorly performing flues that fail to vent smoke properly.

A single-use fire extinguisher kept near but away from likely sources of fire is another common sense fire safety tool. A common mistake is putting the extinguisher too close to the fireplace or stove, forcing homeowners to reach through dancing flames for it. An extinguisher should be handy but beyond the likely range of a possible fire, and everyone in the home should know how to use it.

Fire Safety Tools Should Be Household Words

A bucket of sand and a shovel are never a bad idea for a fireplace hearth and can be attractive decorative items as well. If sand is a problem, that is no reason to toss out the bucket; an empty one helps in cleaning the fireplace by giving a place for the ashes, also improving fire safety.

A fireplace screen belongs among common tools of fireplace safety as well, and for more than one reason. A decorative screen prevents sparks from flying out of the fireplace to set fire to a newspaper or carpeting. It also prevents children from coming dangerously close to the fire, hypnotized by curling flames and glowing embers.

Heads, It’s The Phone Book…

To round out the top five fire safety tools, we are torn between a fire retardant surround for fireplaces and a phone book. The first is definitely a good idea, but the second can put you in touch with a chimney sweep. Having your chimney professionally swept is absolutely critical to fireplace safety, so we are going with the phone book, but keep them away from the fire!