Fireplace safety ahead of colder temperatures

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The temperature is dropping across Louisiana in the coming days and now is the time to get prepared.

“We cut it up into dimensional wood 12 to 14 inches for people that have small fireplaces and 22 inches for people that have a standard fireplace,” Leslie Bratton, who sells wood behind Beauvoir Firewood, said.

He sees more people come by this time of year.

“The most important thing is if you don’t burn oak or some sort of hardwood like that and you do go in your backyard and pick up pine and stuff like that. Pine will burn and everything, but it puts a creosol into the flue of the fireplace,” Bratton said.

Before you start a fire, officials say to get your fireplace inspected and cleaned.

“You know a house at Christmas time, you know, and everybody’s ready to use their fireplace. And you know I keep the Grinch out,” Chris Clouatre, CC Chimney Sweep & Duct Cleaning, said.

Clouatre said getting your fireplace regularly checked could save your home.

“Especially this fireplace behind me when we got here to just simply clean it out, the fire bricks had shifted. The mortar was eroded, and when I tore the brick out a few minutes ago, the back wall was burnt, so it was a structural fire just sitting there waiting to happen,” Clouatre said.

Even if more repair is needed, Clouatre said it does not take long and is still easier than dealing with a fire.

“Brick in the back, all the sides, and the back wall, and we’re just cutting some new fire brick,” Clouatre said.

Clouatre recommends not using paper or pine needles for your fire.

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