As winter begins on Vancouver Island, chasing away the evening chill is on everyone's mind. And nothing is cozier than warming the toes in front of a friendly wood fire. But are you doing it right?
If there is a lot of wood smoke coming from your chimney, or if you can smell it long after your fire has been burning, the "Burn It Smart" campaign can help. Both novices and seasoned veterans can learn how to have cleaner, safer, more efficient fires that reduce wood smoke.
When wood is burned at a high temperature, virtually nothing but carbon dioxide and water vapor are produced, but when you allow your fire to smolder then blue/grey smoke is produced, which means creosote is forming at the same time. Creosote is deposited on the inside of your chimney when wood is not burned completely and becomes a highly volatile fuel during a chimney fire!