Before you head inside to catch your breath after shovelling your driveway, the Bancroft Fire Department wants you to make sure you’re protected.
Deputy Fire Chief Matt Musclow explains that snow piled up on exhaust vents for things like propane appliances needs to be cleared off and kept three feet away. He explains doing that will prevent carbon monoxide from building up and backing up into your home. “If you’re clearing snow off your roof, make sure you’re not blocking those vents or any exit routes from your house,” he adds.
Musclow notes that you should also be checking your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms every month to ensure they’re working well.
Now is also a good time to clean your chimney. “With the influx of temperatures, these are the times of year we see creosote building up,” Musclow says. He explains that creosote is a product of incomplete combustion. “As you damper your wood and it’s not burning at an ideal temperature creosote starts to build up,” Musclow says. If you don’t clean your chimney then as the temperature drops and you start to run your fire at a hotter temperature you run the risk of the creosote igniting and causing a fire.