Enjoy Your Fire Safely this Winter.

This week is Chimney Fire Safety Week and with the Autumn months upon there isn’t a better time to learn how to enjoy your stove or fire safely.

According to statistics there is an average of 5,550 chimney fires per year in England, Wales and Scotland. In England alone between April 2016 and March 2017 there were 4221 chimney fires. That’s approximately 368 chimney fires per month, 81 per week and 11 chimney fires per day.

Now its 9^th year Chimney Fire Safety Week aims to raise awareness amongst consumers of the importance of maintaining their solid fuel heating systems, chimneys and flues.

So, what causes a chimney fire?
It is estimated that 82% of chimney fires are cause by blocked chimneys. However, this isn’t the only cause and you may be surprised by some of the most common reasons chimney fires start. The most common causes of chimney fires are:
– Improper appliance sizing
– Burning unseasoned wet wood
– Infrequent sweeping and cleaning
– And overnight burning/ smouldering wod for long period in wood stoves.

The Do’s & Don’ts
When it comes enjoying your fire this Autumn/Winter there a few simply steps you can follow to make sure you, your family and home are safe the potentially devastating consequences of chimney fires.

DO:
– Get your chimney inspected and swept on a regular basis by an approved chimney sweep. It is recommended that stoves/fires that burn wood are swept at least twice a year whilst fires burning smokeless fuels are swept at least once a year. It is important to use a certified chimney sweep who will do a professional and through job.

-Only use seasoned firewood with moisture content below 20%. Here at Robeys we suggest that to only use wood that has either been naturally seasoned for at least two years or logs/wood that have been kiln dried. (See our latest deals on kiln dried logs now http://bit.ly/2uQkbY6)

– Install both smoke & CO² alarms, if you haven’t already and make sure it is checked regularly. Here at Robeys we believe it’s good practice to test your alarms once a week and replace the batteries when you change the time on your clocks each Spring & Autumn. (Alarms available at http://bit.ly/2w8YwLL)

DON’T:
– Never leave your fire unattended. Make sure you fire is properly extinguished before you leave the house and even when you go to bed at night.

-Never use igniters like lighter fluid and kerosene to start your fire and we strongly advise not to burn card boxes, wrapping paper etc however tempting it may be.

What to do in the case of a Chimney Fire?

Even if you are the most cautious of individuals sometimes the inevitable happens and like any other fire the first priority is to get everyone at of harm’s way and call the Fire & Rescue service – like all fires, chimney ones can have devastating impacts and the safety of you and your family should be the number one priority.

Robeys Service & Support

To us the after care of our customers is just as important as any other part of the buying process, which is why we offer servicing of most appliances supplied and installed by us including solid fuel, wood burning, natural gas and LPG, we also offer a chimney sweeping service which can be done at the same time as your stove/appliance service by our HETAS registered team. For more information visit www.robeys.co.uk /service-and-support

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