JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s that time of year again. The temperature is dropping and people are turning up the heat in their homes and yes even starting up the fireplace.
Chimney Champions, a local business in Jacksonville, said it’s starting to get a little busier now that the cooler weather is setting in.
Laura Wood, its director of operations, told Action News Jax’s Alicia Tarancon you should always get your chimney cleaned out by a professional and inspected at least once a year.
“Even if you don’t have it cleaned, you just have somebody inspect it. A certified inspector can come out, take a look, make sure nothing shifted and nothing has changed in the system to ensure suitable operation of the system,” Wood said.
If left unchecked, a combustible by product of charred wood called Creosote can form, and that could lead to fires.
“So overtime it can build up in the system, into the crevices, into the flue, things like that so if it builds up and you don’t have it cleaned those could be points of contact where there could be combustion.”
You may have already put out your holiday decorations, like the chunky knit stockings over the fireplace, but experts warn if you’re going to use the fireplace, to make sure these decorations are a safe distance away from the fireplace.
Action News Jax went along with Chimney Champions while it cleaned out and inspected this chimney home in Atlantic Beach.
One thing they’ll check for is to make sure the flue and damper are working properly.
“The flue is connected to the damper. The damper is what is going to allows the how air and the smoke to go out and funnel out the chimney. So basically if you don’t have that open then that comes all back into your home and can create a chimney fire or fireplace fire,” Wood said.
When starting your fire, stick with seasoned hard wood like oak and stay from softer woods like pine.
That means you can’t chop up your Christmas tree when you’re done with it and toss it into the fire place.
“They can create chimney fires, usually they catch fire very quickly and they combust and it creates a very large flame so that’s definitely something you would not want to put in our fireplace,” she said.