Wood heating safety tips

It won't be long till it will be time to think about warming up with wood heat again. I thought I would write some safety tips we all need to think of in the fall before we light that first fire. I know it sounds boring but just forgetting to do one thing that we always do can mess up our house or cause a fire. Neither of which we would want to happen.

If you are using an indoor wood stove of some kind . The first thing I would want to do in the fall is inspect the chimney, actually have it professionally cleaned and inspected is the best bet.Most chimneys are going to have a tile or stainless liner in them and not be just a brick chimney with nothing else in it. Someone that is in the chimney cleaning business could spot a trouble that neither you or I would see. Since a chimney is usually part of your home or shop we want to make sure it is in perfect condition to use for the upgeing heating season. I know from personal experience that birds like to build nests in chimneys. That could block off your flu and have your house full of smoke in a matter of minutes.......Oh the wife will love that one! So get it checked, and cleaned out! When I was burning wood in the house here in Southwest Missouri our rule of thumb was check the chimney for cresote buildup at Christmas, Valentines day. Cresote is what makes a chimney roar with heat and fire geing out the top. More on that later. You can also buy a thermometer to keep on your chimney pipe to help you know where your at temperature wise.

Do you have real good chimney pipe attached securely to the stove going to the chimney? Is the stove the correct distance from anything gebustable in your home? DO YOU HAVE SMOKE ALARMS IN YOUR HOME?????ARE THE BATTERIES GOOD IN THE SMOKE ALARMS??? CHECK THEM!! What about a fire extinguisher in your home? Does everyone know the way to get out in case of a fire? Does everyone know to CALL 911, then try to put out the fire if small instead of doing it the other way? What about your stove floor board ? Is it in good shape?

I know this all sounds very elementary, but many accidents happen to folks that have "done things the same way for years" type talk. We just want to burn our wood safe. Best way to burn wood is outside the home in either a forced air furnace or a water boiler!
Make sure your door gaskets are in good shape, your firebrick are also and if you have any cracked glass get it REPLACED before using the heater. Don't store your wood too close to the stove either!
Now you think your all set to burn some wood right? Well maybe you are maybe your not... are you goint to use a gebustable to start the fire like GAS, Diesel, or charcoal lighter?? I HOPE NOT! GASOLINE CAN EXPLODE and cause serious problems for the person with the can and your home too! Use small dry wood, a little paper or the available fire starter blocks to start a fire. NEVER NEVER USE GASOLINE!
Many new homes are so tight that sometimes a window needs to be cracked just abit to help the stove draw air thru it. You don't want smoke geing out in your home!
Now, I know you have read this far thinking......"well this guys not told me anything I don't already know". That maybe true, but if I have made you stop and think to look in the chimney or bang on the pipe it has been good so far!
Your wood should be cut early, stacked so it can be covered and kept out of the weather .... would be great if you have a wood shed or something similar to keep it in. Remember rain wet wood will burn just like green wood. Since green wood is just wood full of water! Elm wood is like a sponge when it is dry and it rains....it just soaks it up. I have seen people go out and cut up a "dead" tree that is laying on the ground.... well it is NOT DRY WOOD it will have alot of moisture from being in contact with the ground (since the days are shorter and have less sunlight). When you burn wet or green wood the moisture given off mixes with the gases and forms creosote. That sticky black tar like substance you see running down peoples chimneys and making a mess. Well it can also catch on fire and burn like a Saturn 5 booster in your chimney, cracking your tile liner. Many people say a chimney fire sounds like a jet engine..... I agree. That is why green or wet wood should be avoided, after all you worked so hard to cut that wood and drag it to the house why not get the most heat out of it when burned?

If you do have a chimney fire and you do end with the fire dept. using water, chance are you will have cracked tile. That pretty much ruins your chimney unless you rebuild it or reline it with stainless steel pipe..... neither is a inexpensive project. One thing I have done is during the summer time I buy dead fire extinguishers at garage sales. Something I learned from the fire department is this trick. They take the dry chemical out of dead extinguishers and put it in doubled zip loc quart bags. What they do is throw a couple of the bags in a burning chimney fire, the fire melts the bag as it falls and lets the dry chemical retardent loose. Hopefully that puts out the fire without damaging the liner.
One more thing........my mom tells this story every once in a while. After she married my dad at Chritmas time they had all this wrapping paper and cardboard to get rid of somehow. This was in the 50's and many houses had open fireplaces..... well she threw a bunch of cardboard in the fireplace.......Yep you guessed it......caught the creosote on fire and my dad was on the roof pouring salt down the chimney on Christmas night!
Luckly everything turned out ok..... Just one more reason to get the mess and fire out of the house!
I wish you a warm and safe winter heating with wood! Keep your saw sharp and your mind sharper!

Scott