Safety
How to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Imagine receiving a frightening phone call from your elderly grandparents, who live out-of-state and are calling to tell you that they love you, but they’re dying. That’s precisely what happened to Ariane Townsend. And if she hadn’t of called the fire department in her grandparents’ hometown, they would have likely died of carbon monoxide poisoning.…
Read More5 Benefits of Cleaning Your Dryer Vent
How many loads of laundry do you do each week? According to Proctor & Gamble Co., the average U.S. household does 600 loads of laundry each year. And a 2007 survey of 2,500 Whirlpool customers found that 78% of those surveyed do about nine loads of laundry a week. That’s a lot of dirty clothes…
Read MoreTroubleshooting Tips for Gas Fireplace Problems
There’s nothing quite like a gas fireplace for convenience. Flip the switch and you have an instant fire, adding warmth and ambiance to your home. But what happens when you flip the switch and nothing happens? Below are some tips to help you troubleshoot this problem and others with your propane or natural gas log fireplace. Check to…
Read More8 Steps for Starting a Safe Fire
Most people probably think starting a fire in their fireplace or wood-burning stove should be a pretty easy task. But if you don’t start your fire correctly, you could end up with a room full of smoke. Therefore, here is a recommended method for getting your fire going, so you can enjoy the comforts of…
Read More4 Causes of Creosote Buildup
Have you noticed smoke flooding into your home when burning a fire in your fireplace or wood stove? Or maybe you’ve noticed that bits of debris have fallen from the flue into your fireplace or stove? These are signs you have a creosote buildup on the inside of your chimney flue. Creosote is a black…
Read MoreWhy You Shouldn’t Burn Your Christmas Tree in Your Fireplace
After the holidays, it’s time to take down the Christmas tree, pack up the lights and decorations, and return your home’s décor back to the way it was. While you likely have a location to store all of your decorations, what do you do with a REAL Christmas tree after the holidays? Unless you bought…
Read MoreChildproof Your Fireplace to Keep Your Kids Safe
A warm fire in your home’s fireplace on a chilly night can be cozy, but when you have small children, your fireplace can be quite dangerous to curious little ones. Little hands can reach for the brightly colored flames, causing burns. Or, toddlers learning to walk can trip and fall, hitting their head against the…
Read MoreCarbon Monoxide—The Invisible Killer
Each year over 400 people die from accidental, non-fire-related carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, and thousands of people become ill from it. In fact, in 2010, U.S. fire departments responded to over 80,000 CO incidents in which CO was present in the building. Carbon monoxide is a by-product of combustion. While most people think you can…
Read More19 Fireplace Safety Tips
On a chilly autumn night, there’s nothing like a crackling fire in the fireplace. While fireplaces are designed to provide comfort, warmth and relaxation, if they’re not maintained properly, they also can lead to damaging residential fires. In fact, from 2008 to 2010, over 56% of residential fires were the result of fires from chimneys…
Read MoreChimney Caps Help Prevent Chimney & Yard Fires
Autumn is a beautiful time of year when the leaves change colors to brilliant yellows, oranges and reds. But those leaves eventually fall off the trees, piling up on roofs, yards and anywhere else they land. Autumn also is the time of year when people start using their fireplaces for warmth and maintaining the right…
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