Tips for Safe Fireplace Use

Many individuals buy a house with the added feature of a fireplace or buy a house with the intentions of putting a fireplace in. When getting a fireplace installed in your home, there are many things that you as a homeowner should think about, especially if you have small children in the house.

 There are many fireplace safety tips to consider:

• Your fireplace should be installed professionally.
• Every year before using your fireplace, you should hire a professional chimney sweep to inspect and clean your chimney.
• As a homeowner, you should make sure that your home has the right smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Make sure that each detector works properly and has new batteries.
• When owning a fireplace, you should make sure to have a fire extinguisher nearby.
• Never place any kind of material close to the fireplace. Flammable materials should be three or more feet from the fire.
• If there are pets or small children in the house, you might want to consider getting a gate to put around the fire place.
• Never burn anything that could cause the fire to get out of hand. Don’t burn trash, Styrofoam or plastic. Burning these things could lead to your fire getting out of control and becoming dangerous.
• Never use flammable liquids to get your fire started. There are fire starting logs that can help with getting your fire started easier.

Also make sure you have a fire alarm installed in case the fire does get out of control when you are not in the room. You and your family can be alerted immediately and the fire department called so the fire can be taken care of as quickly as possible.

Contact Your Fire Safety and Home Security Company

For more information or questions regarding your fireplace or need to have smoke and/or carbon monoxide detectors installed in your house, you can contact SPS security and Fire at 585-770-0348.