Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 9 – 15, gives us the opportunity to stress fire safety in the home, something we at Rooftop Chimney Sweeps takes seriously every day of the year.

It’s in our nature to help keep your fireplace and chimney operating properly to help keep you and your family safe.

The theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week is, “Don’t Wait— Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years.” It’s important that homeowners keep their smoke alarms in proper working order, which means replacing batteries twice a year and the unit themselves every 10 years.

Smoke alarms save lives, and there are other tips when it comes to your fireplace that you should be aware of when having a fire:

Keep small children and pets away from the fireplace, especially when burning a fire. Warn children of the dangers of fire.

Always close the fire screen when the fireplace is in use. This will help keep hot embers from popping out of the fireplace onto the floor and nearby objects.

Keep flammable materials, like pillows and upholstered furniture, away from the fireplace.

Don’t close the damper until all of the embers have completely stopped burning.

Make sure the fire is out completely before going to bed or leaving the house.

While some of these tips are common sense, Fire Prevention Week is a great opportunity to reiterate this life-saving information.

Lastly, having a professional chimney cleaning service remove toxic creosote from the interior of your chimney will help prevent house fires. Creosote is a by-product of burning that adheres to the inside of your chimney and can catch on fire in intense heat. It’s recommended you have your chimney cleaned and inspected annually.

Rooftop Chimney can remove creosote from your chimney, to minimize the threat of fire. We have the know-how and experience to thoroughly clean and inspect your chimney along with a variety of other services, like chimney cap repair, chimney liner installation and fireplace service.

And while Fire Prevention Week is only one week, we perform these important services year-round.