Colder weather is upon us, I have noticed many smoking chimneys out in Town this week. Please make sure you have have cleaned your chimney or heating appliance.
Now let's talk about those wood stove ashes.
When you clean out those ashes from the fireplace or wood stove, use only tools made specifically for the task, not a plastic beach shovel and do not think of using that shop vacuum. Even though there may appear to be no fire, small embers may still be smoldering beneath the surface. As the embers are exposed to the air, they get the oxygen they need to reignite and burn. That is why you should not put these ashes in a plastic bag, plastic bucket or paper bag. Ashes should be placed in a metal container with a metal cover and placed outside away from the house as soon as possible.Once the ashes are outside, not on the front porch they can be placed in a garden with no combustible vegitation. If a garden hose is available wet the ashes thoroughly. If there is snow this year no worries just dump the ashes on top of the snow. Please do not put ashes in a trash can or drop them into the compactor at the Town Transfer Station.
And, always make sure that you have a properly operational smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector in your home. Do not remove the battery from the smoke detector if its sounds all the time when you load that wood stove, relocate the detector to another location in the room.
For more fire safety information you can visit NFPA at www.nfpa.org
