It shouldn’t come as a shock, but fire can be incredibly dangerous and despite fireplaces being common place in our homes for hundreds, if not thousands, of years it’s still important to respect them and be safety conscious.
When you own a fireplace, safety isn’t just recommended it’s essential to your home and your wellbeing.
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How to Make Sure a Fireplace is Safe to Use
Below, we’ll share some of our most common tips on how you can ensure you’re using your fireplace safely.
1. Keep it clean
The first step toward having a safe fireplace is having a clean fireplace. Some people like to think of safety and cleanliness as two separate things- in reality, they are very closely linked!
But why? How does a clean fireplace equal a safe fireplace?
A clean fireplace will be free of hazards, meaning that if there is a problem you should be able to identify it quicker. A clean fireplace will also mean clean fireplace glass (if you have a door) which again means you’ll be able to watch the fire closely and easily, ensuring it behaves as it should.
A clean fireplace also burns cleaner than a dirty fireplace. When the wood and soot burns, it will create smoke that is at risk of emitting into the room if your chimney isn’t properly maintained.
2. Don’t over stack wood
Of course, whenever you have a fire, you need enough wood to keep it going. But it’s important not to overload it with so much wood that it creates a fire which is too big for your fireplace.
Although a bigger fire might generate more heat in the short term, it will also cause damage to the fireplace and make it dirtier (and, therefore, more dangerous).
By avoiding over stacking, you’ll ensure that you have a safe and sustainable fire burning.
3. Keep combustibles away
When we say “combustible”, we mean anything that burns and has the potential to explode. Ensure there is a clear distance between the fire and anything that will “combust” if it’s exposed to too much heat.
Our advice would be to never put anything combustible on the hearth or near/in the fire itself.
Items that could be considered combustibles would include electronics, aerosols, plastics and so on.
4. Heat flue before use
If you haven’t used your fireplace in a while, chances are, the flue is cold. This is a safety hazard as it can stop the smoke from escaping.
The rising hot air will meet the sinking cool air, which creates a sort of pushing type effect, where the smoke gets pushed down to where it came from. It will likely bellow out into the room with nowhere else to escape to. Not pleasant for you and your guests.
The way to stop this from happening is to heat the flue up before starting your fire. Simply light a piece of newspaper and hold it up into the flue to do this. Then, you can create your fire.
5. Only burn correct materials
For something to be burnt in your fireplace, it needs to be one of the following: wood, coal, paper, or charcoal. Do not put anything else into the fireplace.
It may be tempting to use some form of liquid fuel to “get the fire going”. This will not create a sustainable fire that will last, and it can also pose a severe safety risk.
It’s also important not to burn your rubbish. Even rubbish made of paper can still contain pieces of plastic that, when burnt, generate toxic fumes.
Focus your time on using normal burning materials, and this in turn will help you create a safe and sustainable fire.
6. Ensure door shut properly (if applicable)
Nowadays many fireplaces will come with a glass door. This makes the fire more efficient and it also lessens the chances of harmful gases entering the room.
Unfortunately however sometimes, the seal on the door can be broken or damaged and as a result won’t allow you to shut it correctly. This can lead to smoke, that should go out of the chimney, emitting out and into the room instead.
If your fireplace door seal is broken, it’s recommended that you call a professional to deal with the matter and repair it properly.
7. Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
When something does go wrong, you’ll want to know about it.
Having a smoke alarm is essential for everyone, but particularly for people with a wood fire (be that a fireplace or a stove) within their home. Even more so if you leave the fire on overnight when you sleep.
Another chemical that can kill is carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a colourless and odourless chemical that can wreak havoc on our bodies.
If you own a fireplace, it’s vital that you also own both a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide alarm.
Make sure you replace the batteries at least twice a year on each device.
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A fireplace can add so much to a home.
Heat, that cosy feeling of a roaring fire in the dead of winter, interior design character and charm… but it still introduces fire to the home and as such it needs to be used safety and treated with respect.
We hope these tips help, and for everything else home heating stick with CosyWarmer.com