Maintenance tips
Proper upkeep key to continuing home safety

All home heating systems require regular maintenance to function safely and efficiently.

USFA officials encourage all home and business owners to practice the following fire safety steps to keep structure fires safely burning.

• Have your chimney or wood stove inspected and cleaned annually by a certified chimney specialist.

• Clear the area around the hearth of debris, decorations and flammable materials.

• Always use a metal mesh screen with fireplaces.

Leave glass doors open while burning a fire.

• Install stovepipe thermometers to help monitor flue temperatures.

• Keep air inlets on wood stoves open, and never restrict air supply to fireplaces. Otherwise you may cause creosote buildup that could lead to a chimney fire.

• Use fire-resistant materials on walls around wood stoves.

• Never use flammable liquids to start a fire.

• Use only seasoned hardwood. Soft, moist wood accelerates creosote buildup.

• Build small fires that burn completely and produce less smoke.

• Never burn cardboard boxes, trash or debris in your fireplace or wood stove.

- Some information courtesy of United States Fire Administration. The Chimney Safety Institute of America also contributed to this story.

"Creosote is very combustible. If it builds up in sufficient quantities,

it can sustain a very powerful and potentially dangerous chimney fire."