Fireplace Lowdown

What Can You (and can't you) Burn in Your Outdoor Fire Pit?

With the warm days of summer just about here, the outdoor entertaining season has come as well.  If you have a fire pit, you may be wondering what type of wood (and other materials) you can safely burn.  (If you don't have a fire pit yet--and want one--you can look at some of the ones we've talked about in the past: Ball O' Fire Pit with Spark Shield, the handsome Aluminum Fire Pit Table, and the fun Tiki Tabletop Fire Urn). 

Since you don't have the protection of a firebox and chimney, and you may have dry grass or tree branches nearby, it's important to be especially safe when starting fires outdoors.  So let's take a look at what you can burn (and what you shouldn't).

What Should You Burn in Your Fire Pit?

Many species of wood are suitable for burning in an outdoor fire pit.  (Where people tend to get in trouble is burning unorthodox stuff.)  For ideal firewood, see our article on the Best Types of Firewood.  Hickory, oak, maple, beech, birch, and elms top the list, but there are plenty of other suitable choices as well.

If you want instant logs, Hearth.com recommends Eco Logs, which are compressed logs made from the dust created by hardwood floor manufacturing companies.  The logs come in 8-packs, are inexpensive, but burn a long time with larger flames than most presto-log types you get at the supermarket or DIY store.

Wood size is important when burning in a fire pit.  Make sure to get logs that fit in the unit and don't stick out the top or sides.  For shallow models, the logs may rise above the rim, but don't let them hang over the sides.

What Not to Burn in a Fire Pit

Let's make a list to highlight some of the big things to avoid:

• Pressure-treated wood (emits toxic fumes)
• Railroad ties (they have been treated and contain carcinogens) 
• Painted or stained wood (again, fumes may be toxic)
• Green wood (even more so than with an indoor fireplace, the extra smoke is annoying to you, your guests, and maybe your neighbors too). 
• Burning garden waste, weeds, etc. may be against your city's ordinances.
• Also don't burn anything that creates black smoke or a noxious odor

Pets & Fireplace Safety

If you've got cats or dogs, it's worth taking a minute to determine if your fireplace, stove, or outdoor fire pit are "pet friendly."  While pets aren't as likely to get into matches or start playing around with burning logs as kids, there are dangers to be aware of for them too.

Fire Safety for Households with Pets

• An indoor fireplace should have a fire screen or glass fireplace doors to keep sparks from flying out (especially if your dogs or cats like to bask in front of a crackling fire!).
• Don't leave fires burning unattended, indoors or outdoors.
• If your pets can't resist snooping close to the flames, consider a fireplace gate such as the ones we've talked about before from Hearthgate (great for keeping kids safe too). 
• Don't place pet beds or furniture too close to the flames (even if your pets like to cozy up to the warmth).

It's not too hard to keep Fido or Fifi from getting burned, but they'll certainly be unappreciative if you're not careful and sparks fly into their fur! 

How to Avoid House Fires Caused By Fireplaces

I'm often looking for fireplace-related news for this blog, and it seems that there's hardly a day when Google news doesn't have a link to a story where a fireplace caused a house fire.  It's as bad as smoking in bed, it seems!  So how do you make sure your fireplace doesn't cause a house fire?  Here are some tips:

How to Avoid House Fires Caused by Fireplaces

Get your fireplace cleaned and inspected annually. This dirty chimney filled with creosote (what you get when wood burns) is a fire waiting to happen. 

There are many products on the market that supposedly allow you to clean your chimney yourself, but it's best to hire a professional chimney sweep.  A funky product you stick up the chimney isn't going to let you know if you have cracks or other maintenance issues that require attending.

Only burn quality hardwoods. While it's possible to get good deals on pine, cedar, or other softwoods, you're much better off buying hardwoods.  Not only do you get more burning bang for your buck (read my article on which type of firewood is best), but hardwoods actually burn much cleaner than soft.  This means you'll get less of a build up of flammable soot and resins in your chimney.

Don't leave a fire unattended.  You'd think this would go without saying, but a lot of these fires occur because people have left the home or gone to bed with embers still burning.  Let a fire burn out or put it out before leaving the room.

Use a fireplace screen.  While fireplace screens can be decorative, they also keep sparks from leaping out and landing on rugs, draperies, etc.  You don't have to buy anything fancy, but a simple fireplace screen can be a smart investment.

Inspect your fireplace tools.  Decent fireplace tools are not that expensive, so it doesn't make sense to suffer a poker with a loose head or some such.  You don't want anything that could come off and leave you with a log rolling out onto the living room carpet!

Don't burn trash or dubious materials.  Think twice before burning old treated, varnished, stained, etc. wood.  This stuff can have toxins that aren't safe to breathe, and they can leave a lot of flammable gunk on the inside of your chimney.  Only burn untreated wood that is meant to go into a fireplace.

Wood Stove & Fireplace Safety Tips

If you use a wood stove, pellet stove, corn stove, or fireplace to heat your home, it's important to get it cleaned and inspected on a regular basis.  Even if you just use your fireplace occasionally, it's a good idea to get it professionally checked out annually. 

Here are some articles to get you off on the safe foot when it comes to heating your home with combustible fuels this year:

Fireplace Cleaning Tips -- Covers the fireplace, chimney, and also related accessories and tools.

Common Sense Needed for Home Heating -- Some great safety reminders as well as information on what you should (and shouldn't) burn in your stove or fireplace.

Stove Air Pollution in Your Home -- Burning fires gives off many of the same carcinogenic fumes as smoking cigarettes, so make sure you keep the smoke going up the chimney and not in your home.

Fireplace Maintenance -- A few tips--make sure your fireplace is being properly cared for before lighting up a fire.

Best Kindling for Fire Starting?

Kindling wood and newspaper are essential for starting fires (unless you're trying to challenge yourself by doing it Survivor style) and should always be kept on hand, but what type of kindling works best?

Jane Gitlan recommends fatwood in her Fireplaces book:

"Fatwood is a type of kindling sold by the bagful in specialty shops. It is made up of small pieces of pine about 8 in. long and less than 1 in. thick. The wood comes from the stumps of pine trees, which contain a high concentration of natural resins. The resins ignite quickly and remain alight, making fatwood a good choice for kindling."

Or you could just follow my dad's example and take an ax to the logs in the firewood pile.  Split a few dry ones, and you've got some good kindling that doesn't cost you any extra.  For people like me, who like to keep things clean and don't want to spend time sweeping up shards of wood, the pre-split fatwood sounds like a winner.

Fireplaces: A Practical Design Guide to Fireplaces and Stoves Indoors and Out

Natural Gas Detectors Are Smart Buys

If you have a gas fireplace, or you're thinking of installing one, it's a good idea to put a natural gas detector into your home.  Just as a smoke alarm lets you know if there is a fire, a gas detector can quickly alert you to a gas leak.

You can find gas detectors for about $50, and many of them are a snap to install.  Some can just be plugged into a wall outlet (you could hook it into the same outlet that you plug the electrical cord into for the blower on your gas fireplace).

The Safety Siren Propane and Natural Gas Detector Alarm is an example of a model that can just be plugged into an outlet.  There is virtually no installation effort required, so there's no reason to put off getting a gas detector.  If you have a gas fireplace in your home, it's just a smart idea, especially if you have children who might not know enough to recognize a gas leak.

Gas Leak? Take These Safety Steps

If you are installing a gas fireplace (or you already have one), you need to be aware that someday you could experience a gas leak.  Though you may live 20 years with a gas line without a problem, it's better to be safe than sorry.  If you think you smell a gas odor, it could be a leak. 

If you suspect a gas leak, here are the safety steps you should take:

1. Don't switch on any electrical devices in the house (including light fixtures, computers, and televisions) and don't use your home phone.
2. Open the windows to let the fresh air in.
3. Get everyone out of the house, including the pets, and to a safe location.
4. Close the gas taps and the gas meter valve.
5. Use a cell phone or neighbor's phone to call 911 or your gas company's hotline.
6. Don't go back into the house until the gas company has declared it safe.

Hearth Gate Keeps Children Safe Around the Fire

It's always important to think about fireplace safety, but this is especially so if you have small children in the house.  Whether you enjoy burning a fire for ambiance, or you've got a gas insert or wood stove for heating your home, you know how hot the hearth can be.  With open fireplaces, there is the danger of small hands being stuck into the flames, and with inserts, burns are easy to get since the metal casings get so hot.  That's why this "hearthgate" from Amazon makes sense for families with children.

Sections adjust, so you can create any angle.  The hearth gate can also be used outdoors around backyard fire pits, grills, or any other potential hazards you want to fence off.  The black gate system stands 29.5" tall and comes with 5 x 24" sections and a walk-through gate.  It's designed to block off a hearth 6 feet wide by 2 feet deep.

The price is $175:

Hearthgate

Can Fireplaces Trigger Asthma?

As much as I love fireplaces, even I have to admit that burning fires aren't particularly environmentally friendly, especially when you're talking about air pollution.  Walk down the street on a cool autumn or winter night, and you're bound to smell wood smoke from someone's house.  Now I actually like that smell, but a news article I found online (Cozy Fireplaces Create Toxic Dangers) says the particles in the air (indoors as well as outdoors) are carcinogenic and can even trigger asthma attacks among people susceptible to that. 

"The act of burning wood creates a toxic soup of airborne chemicals along with toxins too small to see called particulate matter. 'Those ultra fine particulates are associated with lung damage, lung cancer and heart disease.'"

Just some food for thought if you have an asthma sufferer in the family...

Avoid Residential Fires; Clean Out Coals Correctly

Safety is always important around the home, but we have to be doubly careful in winter, when we're more likely to use space heaters and light fires, whether in the fireplace or on candles.  I just read an article from a homeowner who experienced a residential fire and had a number of safety tips.  Here's what was said about fireplaces:

Dispose of coals from the fireplace correctly: "The coals from the fireplace can live much longer than people realize," said Harrison. To correctly clean out the fireplace, he recommends using only metal buckets to hold the coals/ashes. And be sure to let them set in the bucket for no less than 24 hours to secure that the coals are cold.

The other tips are worth checking out too: A guide to a safer household during the holiday season.