Nothing is as exciting as watching dancing, bright orange flames and hearing the crackling sound of burning wood from your wood-burning heater. Not only does it keep you toastie warm, but it also provides excellent conditions for relaxing on chilly winter nights with your family.
Children also benefit and enjoy having a good heater around. However, their playful nature can put them at a higher risk of fire-related hazards. So, ensuring that you observe these precautionary tips before lighting up your hearth is important in order to keep your children safe around the fire.
Check the Damper or Flue
Before starting a fire, ensure that the flue is open. You can confirm this by looking up your chimney using a flashlight or a mirror.
Keeping the damper open when the fireplace is on allows smoke to escape. As a result, you eliminate the risk of suffering pulmonary complications due to smoke inhalation. Make sure you do not close the flue until all the wood burns out.
Use Dry Wood
It’s advisable to use dry, well-aged wood inside your wood-powered heater. Green or wet wood makes it difficult to start a fire and produces a lot of smoke. Besides causing discomfort, the smoke contributes to soot accumulation in the chimney.
On the other hand, dry wood is easy to light, produces less smoke, and burns evenly. It guarantees a comfortable heating experience.
Never Leave the Fireplace Unattended
Never leave a fireplace unattended. If you must leave the house, ensure that you leave an adult or an older child to supervise the fire. Otherwise, put out the fire.
As mentioned earlier, kids are playful. They can unknowingly touch the burning embers or the fireplace’s walls while still hot, resulting in severe burns. However, such accidents are unlikely under adult supervision.
Additionally, talk to your children about the dangers of fire and the heat they radiate. This reduces their chances of getting too close.
Inspect and Clean the Chimney
Ensure that a professional checks your chimney at least once yearly. It’s also crucial to perform routine checks yourself. For example, animal nests and other items can cause blockages in the chimney, preventing smoke from escaping.
Another way of keeping your chimney clean is using dry wood. This prevents soot build-up caused by using wet wood.
Additional Safety Tips
Always ensure that fireplace tools and accessories are beyond children’s reach. These include lighters and matchsticks.
Also, ensure that your fireplace surroundings don’t have flammable items, such as newspapers, plastic, fuel containers, aerosols, furniture, drapes, etc. If these things manage to get too close to the hearth, they can catch fire, causing significant property damage and potential injuries to you, kids, and pets.
Lastly, install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and purchase fire extinguishers. The sensors are useful for detecting potential fires and harmful gases before they cause any harm—Extinguishers help contain fires before firefighters arrive.
Wrapping Up
Wood-burning heaters from Sydney Heaters have excellent designs that reduce the risk of fire hazards. Most models have a protective glass that prevents fire sparks from burning you or furniture. If you are shopping around for a wood heater, we will help you make a perfect choice. Contact us today, and we will get back with a quote.
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