I wish all you a Happy and Safe New Year!

Looking forward to a great year in 2011.

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Every year, many houses are lost and lives are shattered because of flue fires, especially in

homes where a wood stove or fireplace is the primary or only source of heat. As tragic as this always is, the bigger tragedy is that most could have been prevented.

WPFD fight a large flu fire

Many of the fires are caused by creosote buildup. Creosote, the smelly substance most people are acquainted with through smelling the scent during road construction and roofing work, is a very tacky thick liquid that sticks to almost anything. It is naturally produced through the burning of wood, and it is quite flammable. Since it will adhere to the interior surface of a flue, in time, it produces enough buildup to become a fire hazard.

Having the flue inspected annually by a qualified chimney sweep is a good first step. They have the equipment and expertise to remove the built up creosote and soot, if necessary. When you compare the price of the inspection to the loss of a home and its’ contents due to fire, their rates are generally quite reasonable.

There are also things you can do during the wood burning season to lessen the buildup of creosote and soot. These consist of both things that should be done, and things that shouldn’t be done.

When first building a fire, build a small but very hot fire. This creates a good updraft through the flue so that less buildup can occur.

Do not burn would that isn’t seasoned and dry. The greener and wetter that would is, the more soot and creosote builds up. Well seasoned wood produces on a portion of the buildup that green or wet wood does. Presto logs or similar produce even less.

Using paper to build the fire is not a problem, however avoid burning large amounts of paper and cardboard. The chemicals that paper and cardboard contain produce large amounts of buildup, and the burning produces and intensely hot fire. Remember that the woodstove/fireplace are not meant to be trash burners. This is especially important during the holiday season, where a lot of scrap wrapping paper is a common leftover. This paper burns even hotter than regular paper, and both the buildup and the chance of fire increases many fold. Do not burn trash in your wood stove or fireplace.

A little trick is to put a handful of regular table salt in a relatively hot fire, once or twice a month. This helps break down soot and creosote, and helps prevent it from coating the inside of the flue. It also produces a very pretty yellow flame as it burns.

Avoid burning wood that has a high pitch content. Pitch produces huge amounts of creosote as it burns. Pitchy wood is great for use as kindling, because of the hot flame, but don’t use it as the main burning material unless there is no choice, and even then, recognize that creosote is going to build up quickly.

If a fire does develop, don’t panic, and DON’T pour water into the firebox. This can lead to explosive results. Instead, pour large quantities of salt on the fire, or use a foam style fire extinguisher to kill the fire, call the fire department, vacate the premises, and observe the top of the chimney or flue. Nobody wants to lose their belongings, but your life is more important than the items in your home. I have personally lived through two house fires, neither caused by a flue fire, but I’m here to tell you that as traumatic as it is, you can put your life back together and the items can be replaced. Your life can’t be.

People have been heating with wood for thousands of years, and will no doubt continue to do so. Using common sense and the information above may mean the difference between being warm this winter, safely, and losing everything you own. The effort isn’t great, and the knowledge isn’t hard to understand or come by. Let’s all make this the safest winter on record.

I invite you to share this information to anyone you know who heats with wood stoves or fireplaces. You may save their lives.