Keep Your Family Safe this Winter
Celebrity chef Rachael Ray recently had a fire that destroyed her New York home. This fire was caused by a buildup of creosote in the chimney causing a chimney fire that also spread to the roof. Rachael even noted that she gets her chimney professionally cleaned twice a year. Luckily, no one hurt during the fire. However, Chimney fires are the result of over $256 million in property damage and 80 civilian injuries every year. There are several steps you can take to ensure your family’s safety this winter while using your fireplace:
- Keep your chimney clean
- It is important to get your chimney professionally cleaned at least once a year. A buildup of creosote is the leading cause of heating fires in homes.
- Burn dry wood
- Wet wood can create more creosote deposits making it highly flammable.
- To create drier wood split the log lengthwise allowing more surface area to show.
- It is important to do this 6 months before burning to allow the wood time to dry.
- Don’t burn other objects such as Christmas trees. These are known to cause massive fires.
- Make sure to have a chimney cap
- Designed to keep animals and pests out.
- It is important to keep animals out so they do not build nests that will later catch on fire.
- View our selection of chimney caps HERE!
To view the full article on Rachael Ray’s home fire visit the link HERE.