Fireplace Safety Tips and November Run Totals for Bethel Fire and EMS

Automatic Alarms – 11

Motor Vehicle – 6

Appliance Fire – 1

Carbon Monoxide – 2

Rescue Calls – 1

Brush Fires – 1

Stove Fires – 2

EMS

There were a total of 118 EMS runs for the Month of November

Captains Corner

There is nothing quite like siting by a nice warm fire on a cold Winters day. It’s worth mentioning a couple of quick Safety tips to avoid having any issues:

Chimneys should be cleaned annually by a certified chimney cleaning service.

Gasoline or other flammable liquids should never be used to start a wood fire as it can explode, or flare up quickly.

Pressure treated wood should never be burned as it produces toxic chemicals that can make people sick.

Artificial logs made of wax and sawdust should never be used in wood stoves at all, and should be used only one at a time in fireplaces.

Never burn piles of paper, cardboard,building scraps, and particularly this time of year Christmas trees. Our High Schools NJROTC program has a great program to pick Christmas trees up for a nominal fee and is a nice way to help support an awesome program, and safely discard your tree at the same time.

Try to only burn Hardwoods in your wood stove or fireplace, Soft woods contain a higher content of creosote, and resin which are the substances that clog up, and become dangerous in your chimney. A good rule of thumb is that hardwoods come from trees with leaves, and softwoods typically come from trees that have needles

Never under any circumstance leave a fire unattended.

All of us at Bethel Fire and EMS would like to wish you and your families the happiest and safest of holiday seasons. Have an egg nog for me !

Be well and stay safe!!
Brendan P Ryan
Captain
Bethel Fire Department
38 South St
(203) 778-7414
www.bvfdinc.com