4 Vital Steps to Make Sure Your Fireplace Is Safe

Before planning a cozy gathering around the fireplace this fall, follow the easy steps to ensure that your chimney & fireplace are safe to use. Fireplace safety should always take priority. No one wants to be among the thousands of homeowners whose first fire of the season causes a destructive and dangerous house fire.

With a few simple preparations and the help of a trusted chimney sweep, you can be ready in practically no time. So, gather the firewood and clean the bear rug or whatever preparations are needed for getting maximum enjoyment of warm fires when the weather is cold. Just, first, don’t leave off the following easy steps to ensure your fireplace is safe.

Schedule a Chimney Inspection

Annual chimney inspections are essential, according to the leading fire safety experts, including those at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).  If you have not done so already, schedule a chimney inspection as soon as possible.  The closer it gets to the arrival of cold weather, the busier qualified chimney sweeps become. Although you can surely still make an appointment, the available times are likely not as convenient as they would be should you beat the rush.

Chimney inspections are important because chimneys are vulnerable to damage. If there is an obstruction of any kind in the chimney flue, your home and family are at risk. Chimney obstructions are a leading cause of chimney fires that result in devastating house fires. In addition, deterioration of the chimney flue causes life-threatening hazards. Damaged chimney flues must be repaired or replaced before using the fireplace again.

Schedule Chimney Cleaning

If you have a wood-burning fireplace, creosote accumulates in your chimney flue every time you light a fire. Creosote is highly flammable. It is a tar-like substance that has three different forms.  Only one kind of creosote is easy to clean using a professional chimney sweep brush.  Removal of the other two types of creosote requires tools, equipment, knowledge, and expertise only chimney sweep experts typically have.

The NFPA recommends annual chimney cleaning. Other experts suggest scheduling chimney cleaning when about 1/8 of an inch of creosote buildup is in the chimney flue.

Install Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are life-saving devices that must be in place to ensure home safety when using your fireplace. Particularly at night when everyone is sleeping, simply maintaining the batteries or operational capacity of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors has made the difference between life and death on countless occasions.

Use a Fireplace Screen

Get a fireplace screen for use whenever there is a fire or, if applicable, close the glass doors. Embers from the fireplace can easily pop into the room and cause combustible materials to catch fire. Fireplace screens are an easy solution to a common hazard. This step in ensuring that your fireplace is safe is an essential one, like the others listed here.

Contact Dubuque Fireplace & Patio

The best way to ensure that your fireplace is safe is to call on professional chimney sweeps such as the dedicated chimney technicians at Dubuque Fireplace & Patio for chimney inspections and cleaning. Call us in and around Dubuque at (563) 582-5156 today. In the Highland WI area, call our sister store, Chimney Specialists, Inc., at (608) 929-4887.