Winter Fires are Preventable: Fireplace Safety

2/16/2021 (Permalink)

While they often conjure up images of warmth and comfort, fireplaces (with chimneys, which also support wood stoves) also represent a significant source of home heating fires. Fireplaces or chimneys are involved in one out of three home heating fires. Creosote - a sticky, oily, combustible substance created when wood does not burn completely - rises into the chimney as a liquid and deposits on the chimney walls, and plays a role in 19 percent of all home heating fires each year.

The nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) are teaming up to reduce the risk of these and other home heating fires this December, January and February, when half of all U.S. home heating fires occur.  As part of their joint fire safety campaign, “Put a Freeze on Winter Fires,” both organizations say that chimneys should be inspected and cleaned annually by a qualified professional.

Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from a fireplace, wood stove, or any other heating equipment, and create a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires. Also, make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into the room, and never leave a fireplace fire unattended, particularly when children are present. Ashes should be cool before putting them in a metal container, and kept at a safe distance from your home.

Winter fires are preventable! For more heating fire safety advice from NFPA and USFA’s “Put a Freeze on Winter” campaign, visit www.nfpa.org/winter.

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