January 1999
Winter Fire Safety |
| ’Tis
the season to curl up by the fireplace with a good book. |
’Tis the season to curl up by the fireplace with
a good book. It’s also the time of year that many houses catch on fire. The Health
Alliance offers the following advice to keep you and your family safe this winter:
- Before even starting a fire, call a chimney sweep. Once a year,
fireplaces need to be inspected and cleaned if necessary. This is especially important if
the fireplace has not been used for some time.
- Your next step is to make sure there’s nothing flammable near
the fireplace. Embers can shoot out of the fireplace and easily catch a stack of old
magazines on fire. To prevent embers or sparks from jumping out---and possibly burning
someone---keep a glass or metal screen in front of the fireplace.
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- When starting the fire, do not use flammable liquids, such as
kerosene, gasoline or oil, to start the fire. Don’t use charcoal indoors either. A
match will usually do the trick. Don’t use excessive amounts of paper to build the
fire. It is possible to create a fire so intense that it catches the chimney on fire.
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- If you’re using packaged logs bought from a store, follow the
directions carefully. Never break a synthetic log into pieces to quicken a fire and never
use more than one log at a time.
- Before you leave your home or go to sleep, make sure the fire is out.
Never close your damper with hot ashes in the fireplace. A closed damper can reheat the
fire and force toxic carbon monoxide into the house.
The Emergency Departments of the Health Alliance wish you a prosperous and healthy 1999. |
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The Health Alliance Emergency Departments, which include The Christ Hospital, The University Hospital, The St. Luke
Hospitals (East and West), The Jewish Hospital and The
Fort Hamilton Hospital, wish you a safe holiday season and a prosperous and healthy
2000.
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