Whether in the form of the devastating fires currently ravaging Australia or a recent fire in your area, reminder of the dangers of unchecked fire are constantly available to us in our daily lives. While fireplaces and home fire devices are great for everything from aesthetics to comfort, ensuring proper safety practices are kept at all times when utilizing these items is vital for keeping not only you and your family safe, but also the surrounding area.

At Comfort Solutions Fireplace, we offer a wide variety of contemporary fireplace options, including both gas and electric types plus many style alternatives. In addition to our fireplace products, our fireplace technicians will be happy to go over a number of different precautions you can take to ensure fire spreading is prevented at all times, plus to make sure those in your home are safe and do not risk injury while using or standing near the fireplace. Here are a few general tips to prevent fire spreading when using your fireplace.

Clear Fireplace Area

For starters, one of the simplest tasks out there when it comes to fireplace safety and preventing risks of spreading fire is ensuring the fireplace area itself is free of any potential debris or flammable objects. It’s important to realize that fireplaces reach extremely high temperatures, even during warm-up and cool-down phases – if any clothing, furniture, drapes or other flammable items are near it, they may not even need to make direct physical contact to be set on fire.

Once this happens, your ability to prevent the fire spreading is often limited. Avoid the issue altogether by creating a fire-safe area around the fireplace of at least several feet in every direction, ensuring no one stands there for long periods and no items are ever placed there, even when the fireplace isn’t in use.

Secure Barrier

Many of our fireplace products come with a secure safety barrier included, and it’s vital all fireplace owners utilize these properly. The barrier needs to be securely in place whenever the fireplace is operating, both to prevent fire risks and avoid burns to anyone in the area.

Children and Pets

Speaking of those barriers, it’s vital to explain to children what they are and that they should not be touched or approached – they can get very hot and will burn fingers. Young children should be supervised at all times when near an operating fireplace. In addition, if you have curious pets, we highly recommend sectioning off your fireplace so they cannot touch or access it – not only could their safety be at risk, they could also knock over the barrier or various elements inside the fireplace and risk a fire starting inside your home.

For more on preventing fires from spreading from your fireplace, or to learn about any of our custom fireplace models, speak to the staff at Comfort Solutions Fireplace today.