Nailing It Down

By Dave Murnen and Pat Beaty

Today is the last day of this year’s national Fire Prevention Week.

Sadly, the statistics show that if you have a reported fire in your home nowadays, you are more likely to die than you were in 1980! We all need to do what we can to change that trend.

Last week we gave some tips from the National Fire Protection Agency on how to prevent home fires related to heating appliances. This week we want to spring from there, giving some more detail on fire safety as well as including some basic maintenance tips for you, depending on what kind of heating device you use.

WOOD STOVES

AND FIREPLACES

While most fireplaces aren’t equipped to truly heat a home, we’re including them because they have important maintenance needs. Also, sometimes they are used as alternative heat sources when the power goes out.

This is the time to examine your chimney. If you haven’t taken a peek at it yet (or hired someone else to), consider checking that off your to-do list pronto.

For your fireplace, at the very least, stick your head inside to look up and make sure you can see sky. A bird’s nest or debris can make for a very smoky first fire of fall.

Chimney fires are very common. And by having your chimney cleaned regularly (every year or two, depending on use) you can ensure that yours won’t likely catch fire.

Creosote — a byproduct of combustion — builds up and cakes onto the side walls of the chimney. This material is still highly combustible, and if it has an ignition source it can burn, creating a chimney fire.

Sometimes, repeated little fires in the chimney over time can go unnoticed, but slowly weaken the integrity of the mortar and even the nearby walls. Then one day, it just takes a little heat in the chimney to cause a fire.

In Hoquiam, the fire department wants to encourage people to take preventive measures by cleaning their chimneys. They offer an assortment of chimney brushes to Hoquiam residents for loan at no charge.

Another thing that can prevent chimney fires is to remember to burn dry wood. Wet wood contributes to creosote buildup.

Another form of prevention is to keep the wood for your wood-burning stove at least 20 to 25 feet away from your home. That protects you from adding fuel to the fire and from inviting bugs to your house.

MIDWALL CHIMNEYS

are DANGEROUS

Over the years, we’ve seen or heard about many fires in our area caused by “midwall chimneys.”

If you own a newer home, you can skip to the next section. But for those of you who own or rent a home that was built many years ago, you may want to check that you don’t have a midwall chimney.

These chimneys, which are still frequently in use in some of the older housing stock in our area, are constructed within the interior of the home itself. This type of chimney is extended through the second story or attic, built up against the surrounding wooden materials instead of having an air space, as is now required. As you can imagine, it can be a recipe for disaster.

If you have one of these chimneys, see if there is at least a 1-inch air space between the chimney and any combustible materials around it.

These old chimneys might have been safe and appropriate when used as intended — for gas- or oil-type stoves. However, somewhere along the way, homeowners converted the oil stove to a wood-burning stove, which burns much hotter and therefore likely will require upgrades to the existing chimney.

CHECK BASEBOARD,

CADET HEATERS

Many people on the Twin Harbors have electric baseboard heaters or wall register (cadet) heaters. These need some attention at the beginning of the heating season.

When we aren’t using the heaters during the summer months, we can become lax in keeping flammable items too near them.

So, clean dust and foreign objects out of your wall or baseboard heaters. Then establish 3 feet of clearance around the heat source.

FILL PROPANE TANK

FOR WINTER

If you use propane in your home for cooking and/or heating, now is a good time to make sure you’ve got plenty in the tank before heading into our chilly season.

It’s also a great time to service and inspect your LP insert or furnace appliance.

Just like any other heating appliances, maintain distance between it and any type of combustibles including furniture, curtains, papers and books.

OIL FURNACE NEEDS A PEEK

While not often installed in newer homes, plenty of homes on the Twin Harbors still have oil furnaces.

If that applies to you, it’s important to have the furnace serviced, cleaned and inspected before winter begins. Not only will the maintenance make your furnace more efficient — saving you money — it will also help prevent the hassle of having it break down when you least expect it.

Additionally, having your furnace serviced cleaned and inspected can help prevent fire.

REPLACE BATTERIES

IN ALARMS

Do you have a smoke alarm in every bedroom as well as the kitchen and other rooms? Getting out quickly is the best way to survive a fire, and an alarm gives you extra time to do that.

Nov. 4, when Daylight Saving Time ends this year, has become the traditional day to check your smoke alarms and change your batteries. But if you are installing new smoke alarms in your home anyway, do it now. If not, mark your calendar and get to it Nov. 4.

One little reminder: Sometimes an alarm, usually one close to the kitchen, goes off when someone burns toast, and the quick way to silence it is to take out the battery. The problem with this, firefighters say, is that folks forget to put the battery back in. They’ve attended many a fire with smoke alarms present, but lacking their battery. Don’t let that be your house.

INSTALL CARBON

MONOXIDE ALARM

While you’re thinking about safety, consider installing a carbon monoxide alarm in your home.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas that can cause sickness or even death. It is a natural result of burning fossil fuels — oil, wood, gas — and can become a hazard if the appliances aren’t used as intended or are used without proper ventilation.

All rental properties are required to have a CO detector on each floor, preferably near the bedrooms.

Dave Murnen and Pat Beaty are construction specialists at NeighborWorks of Grays Harbor County, where Murnen is executive director. This is a nonprofit organization committed to creating safe and affordable housing for all residents of Grays Harbor County. For questions about home repair, renting, remodeling or buying, call 360-533-7828 or visit 710 E. Market St. in Aberdeen.