Fall and winter mean cooler temperatures, and also means that a lot of homeowners will be using their fireplace again.

One recent home inspection revealed cracks between the bricks in the wood-burning fireplace.  Had the homeowner not been aware of this issue which was found during the home inspection before they bought the house, and they had decided to start a fire during the recent cold spell, they could have easily seen their house burn down.

We provide basic inspection of fireplaces during our home inspections.  We also recommend that homeowners use the service of a licensed chimney sweep to periodically inspect and clean their fireplace. This can prevent problems with the build-up of creosote – which is the leading cause of fires from wood-burning fireplaces.

We also recommend you test and replace your smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries twice a year – and most experts suggest doing so when we change into and out of Daylight Savings Time to make it easy to remember.  This means it’s time!

Also, for your safety, if you have a fire extinguisher (which we recommend), check for product recalls.  Kidde, one of the largest manufacturers of fire extinguishers, just had a large safety recall.  Check if your fire extinguisher is included in the recall.