The holidays always bring families and loved ones together to gather around the warm crackling fire on those cold winter nights. SJA Property Management would like to share safety tip No. 2 with you: Chimney and Fireplaces.
According to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), winter residential building fires result in an estimated average of approximately 945 deaths, 3,825 injuries, and $1,708,000.00 in property loss each year. 11.7 percent of that is due to chimney or flue fires. For those of you that don’t know a flue is a duct, pipe, or chimney for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, water heater, boiler, or generator to the outdoors. They are also known as vents and for boilers as breeching for water heaters and modern furnaces. If you own a property with a wood burning fire place be sure to have the flue cleaned annually.
Here are some tips to share with your tenants:
- First and foremost- if there is a chimney fire, call the fire department immediately.
- Never burn trash, cardboard, or wrapping paper in the fire place. Floating ashes can cause a chimney fire, and those materials tend to get very hot as they burn and they can cause flash fires.
- Keep small children and pets away from the fireplace. Use a fireplace screen to help with keeping the kids safe and will catch any flying sparks that could ignite or burn holes in the carpet or flooring.
- Most importantly – make sure the fire is completely out before leaving the house or going to bed.
- It’s a good idea to have a certified chimney sweep come out to your rental property to make sure the chimney and flue are in proper working condition.
SJA Property Management want to make sure you have a safe and happy holiday season. Contact us today so we can help you with your Bellevue property management.