Wood Stove and Fireplace Safety
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
The arrival of cooler temperatures means it`s time to do a safty check on your fireplaces and wood stoves. The Missouri Insurance Industry has compiled a list of basic safety precautions for maintaining your fireplace of wood stove.
Fireplace:
-Use a good-quality metal screen and keep it closed when the fireplace is in use.
-Clear a three-foot area around and to the sides of the fireplace of anything that burns.
-Do not refresh a fire with flammable or combustible liquids.
-Never burn charcoal in a fireplace.
-Inspect your fireplace and chimney once a year.
-Keep the damper adjusted for sufficient draft to remove all smoke and gases.
-Use only a metal container to dispose of ashes and embers.
Wood Stove:
-Make sure the stove has been approved by a testing laboratory.
-Place the unit on a nonflammable base so that coals or sparks cannot spill onto the floor.
-Protect flammable walls or ceilings by maintaining adequate distances from the stove or pipes, or by using a heat shield.
-Never overfill or overfire the wood stove.
-Do not burn trash in wood stoves.
-Never put water on the outside of a wood stove.
-Use a 25 lb. dry chemical fire extinguisher in case of a flue fire.
