There is nothing cozier than snuggling up with your family in front of a roaring fire on a cold day. This is something that we all dream about and while we would love for this dream to be real, life happens every second of the day. You can be snuggled up with your children and the phone rings, the oven timer goes off, or someone knocks on your door. Are your children safe near the fireplace when you leave the room to take care of something?

Here are 6 ways that you can keep your children safe while a fire is burning:

  1. Start talking to your children about fire safety at a very young age. They might not understand everything you are saying, but they can understand that they should never go near a fire.
  2. If you have very young children, we recommend placing a gate around the entire fireplace and hearth. This will prevent your children from accidentally getting too close to the fire as they are running around and playing.
  3. Glass doors are a good feature to have, but they restrict air flow inside the fireplace and chimney and they get really hot from the fire. To improve the air flow, you can install a fire screen instead. This screen will ensure that no hot embers fly out from the fire into the room.
  4. Hearths can be hard especially when a child falls on them. Hearth guards are available to make the area softer during falls and they are fire resistant too.
  5. Storing toys, coloring books, and other items on your hearth is never a good idea. Children should never have any reason to be on the hearth at any time, even if a fire is not burning. You want to get them used to staying away from that entire area.
  6. The tools that you use while a fire is burning can be dangerous if little hands get a hold of them. What starts as picking up the poker and pointing it at a sibling can end differently and dangerously.

Children are curious and while we want to encourage them to explore, we need to make sure that they are safe as much as possible. We want you to be able to sit in front of a fire with your children, talking and laughing, yet still feel comfortable that you have taken every precaution possible if you need to leave the room for a second or two.

The CSIA certified chimney sweeps at Lou Curley’s Chimney Service in Drexel Hill are waiting to hear from you. We’re a family-owned and operated company with more than 20 years of experience in the field. We work to further our education and gain or renew our certifications every year so that we can offer you the best in chimney services. Give us a call at 610-626-2439 if you’re in Drexel Hill or anywhere along the Main Line and in need of chimney services or inspection.