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Fireplace and Chimney Safety |
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Fireplaces, chimneys, and wood
(or pellet) stoves are another
area of particular concern when
it comes to fire safety. A quiet
evening spent in front of the
fireplace is one of life’s great
pleasures. So is reading to the
family while enjoying the
radiant heat from a wood stove.
These things can give us much
comfort and pleasure, and yet,
if they’re used improperly or
not maintained, they are fire
safety hazards, and can easily
lead to tragedy. The main
problem is creosote buildup.
Creosote occurs naturally as a
byproduct of burning wood. If it
gets to be a quarter inch thick
or thicker inside the chimney or
stove, it’s a fire hazard, as it
can ignite. Your best friend in
the fight against wood stove and
chimney fires is the legendary
chimney sweep. They make their
living cleaning chimneys and
stoves, and have prevented
untold numbers of fires over the
centuries. You should have a
chimney sweep clean your stove
or fireplace at least once a
year, and possibly more often if
they get a lot of use. It’s also
a good idea to make sure the
chimney has been inspected when
you buy a house. If it hasn’t,
don’t use it until you’ve had it
looked at. If you ever do
experience a chimney fire, get
everyone out of the house, cut
off as much of the air supply to
the chimney as possible (since
fire feeds on oxygen), and call
the fire department. If you have
an extinguisher, you should
insert the nozzle into the
chimney (or stove), empty out
all the contents, and
immediately close the door, if
you feel it’s safe to do so.
While you’re outside waiting for
the fire department to arrive,
if you have a garden hose, and
it’s safe, you should wet down
the roof as much as possible to
prevent it from catching fire.
Creosote isn’t the only fire
safety hazard you need to be
concerned about. Anytime you
have a live fire in the house,
you’ve got to keep a close eye
on it, and carefully control it,
lest it get out of hand. Except
for when loading wood or
pellets, or stirring embers, the
doors of stoves should always be
kept closed. Even then, be
careful for sparks or loose
embers. Fireplaces should also
be screened so that sparks can’t
escape, and you shouldn’t go to
bed, or leave the house, until
all embers in a fireplace
extinguished. If no one can be
there to watch the fire, it
should be put out. It’s okay to
leave a wood burning stove on
overnight or while you’re
outside, as long as it’s in good
working order. They’re designed
for that. And never use either
one for burning anything but
wood (or pellets). Keep these
fire safety precautions in mind,
and you can get years of
enjoyment and comfort from your
stove or fireplace.
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Holiday Safety Tips |
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We’ve covered the basics of fire
safety, and the main fire
hazards. Let’s look at a few
other ways we can improve fire
safety in our homes. Special
precautions need to be taken
during holiday seasons, as many
traditions involve light and
fire. A house fire is always a
tragedy, but the tragedy is
compounded when fire destroys a
home during a holiday period,
which should be a happy, festive
occasion. Losing your home to
fire during Christmas or another
holiday would be a terrible
blow, and there’s no need for it
to happen. You just need to be
aware of the added fire safety
risks, and use extra care to
ensure that fire and lighting is
handled properly. Christmas and
other holidays are often the
occasion for big family
get-togethers. These are
wonderful events which
strengthen and renew our family
ties, but the more people in
your house, the bigger your risk
of someone violating fire safety
principles. You’ll want to
remind people who smoke that
they should never leave lighters
or matches anywhere – they
should either be in their hand
or their pockets. It’s best to
have a designated smoking room,
and don’t allow smoking anywhere
else. Even better is to only
allow smoking outside. You’ll
have to make your own judgment
as to what is the best policy
for your home, but whatever you
decide, make sure that people
adhere to it. Often times, there
will be a lot of cooking going
on, and a lot of people in the
kitchen helping. Make sure that
everyone is cooking with care,
and not being sloppy or creating
fire hazards. You’ll also want
to keep small children out of
the kitchen while the cooking is
being done. Not only is this
much more efficient, it’s also
much safer. The risk of fire is
greatly reduced, and the risk of
small children being
accidentally burned is also
reduced. Candles are another
special concern during the
holiday season. Never leave a
candle burning overnight. They
should all be put out before you
go to bed. Keep them away from
flammable material, and keep
children away from the candles,
too.
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Miscellaneous Fire Safety Tips |
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Those are the basics of fire
safety: prevention, education,
detection, and response. None of
them are very expensive, and
most don’t take any time at all.
You should always have fire
safety on your mind, and be
keeping an eye out for fire
hazards and unsafe practices.
Train your children in the
basics of fire safety, and have
rules for friends and family
when they visit. Enforce the
rules, gently but firmly. No one
should have any problems with
you doing so, and if they do,
it’s their problem, not yours.
It’s always best to have a
checklist in your head that you
go over every night before going
to sleep. Make sure all
unnecessary appliances are off.
Fire safety experts actually
recommend that any appliance be
unplugged any time it’s not in
use, even TV’s, computers, and
stereos. That’s a good safety
practice, but a lot of people
don’t follow it. You’ll have to
decide for yourself if you want
to make it your habit. See to it
that all candles and fireplace
embers are extinguished. Any
space heaters in bedrooms should
be a safe distance from the bed,
and from anything else that
might catch fire. Washers and
dryers shouldn’t be used when
everyone’s asleep. All
cigarettes and cigars should be
doused with water and discarded
from ashtrays before retiring.
Shut all bedroom doors, and make
sure rooms and hallway floors
are clear of obstructions, in
case there is a fire. One thing
that is a bit more expensive
than our other recommendations,
but well worth your
consideration, is an interior
sprinkler system. They do cost a
bit, but they’re getting cheaper
all the time. When smoke or
flames are detected, they
activate and wet everything
down. Fire safety experts say
that if every home had working
detectors and sprinklers, we’d
have hardly any home fire deaths
in America. It’s something to
consider, and if you can afford
a sprinkler system, the peace of
mind is well worth the
investment. |
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©2005-.
All Rights Reserved. |
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City
of Le Center, Minnesota
10
W.Tyrone Street ; Le Center, Minnesota 56057
City Hall (Hours: 8:00-4:30 ; Monday-Friday)
info@cityoflecenter.com
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