During the holiday season, there is no other area of the home that sees more attention than the living room and the fireplace. Before spending time in front of your fireplace this year, it is extremely important to have your chimney inspected first. Annual chimney inspections and cleaning is a key step for fireplace safety in your home. But besides getting your chimney swept there are other fireplace prevention measures that can be taken to keep your home safe this holiday season.

Other Fireplace Prevention Tips Include:

• Installing a smoke alarm on every level of your home, while replacing the battery to make sure that the alarm is working properly.
• Pair your smoke alarm with a carbon monoxide alarm which will alert you if there is a presence of carbon monoxide in your home at harmful levels. Carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless, and colorless so detection of this deadly gas is very dangerous if not handled appropriately.
• Dispose of any amount of ash carefully, hot ash can result in unexpected fires.
• Only use seasoned firewood in your fireplace, the less moisture there is in your firewood the less soot and creosote buildup there is.

Holiday Specific Fireplace Prevention Tips Include:

• Place any and all wrapped packages away from the fireplace or the heating system, at least, three feet away.
• Some wrapping papers are made from extremely combustible chemicals, after opening presents do not burn wrapping paper in the fireplace. This goes for any boxes, papers, or garage; properly dispose of all waste and do not throw into the fireplace.
• Properly dispose of the Christmas tree instead of burning the tree. Over the month, the tree has become dry and if burned can be a serious fire hazard.