By CRAIG FREILICH

Local experts are warning that people should take steps now to reduce the chance of a chimney fire next heating season.

St. Lawrence County Emergency Services dispatched firefighters to chimney fires 69 times in the first five months of this year.

Just two weeks into the new year, wood stove-related fires had destroyed people’s homes and garages in Norfolk , Pyrites, Massena, Louisville, and Lisbon.

But if people who burn wood for heat learn and practice just a couple of things, Emergency Services Director Michael Lecuyer says the chance of a chimney fire is greatly diminished, as is “the potential for putting first responders in harm's way,” which they were dozens of times this year already.

He, along with Phil Hopke of Potsdam, a Clarkson University scientist whose area of research has been with airborne particles such as smoke, and Miles Manchester of Potsdam, well experienced in heating with wood, stress burning well-seasoned wood and keeping the chimney scrubbed out are the most important things to do to avoid chimney fires.

The keys to drying fuel wood are time, air circulation, and perhaps checking the actual moisture content with a meter as it cures.

The keys to a clean chimney are burning cured wood and monitoring buildup, and scrubbing the inside with a special chimney brush or getting a professional to do it for you.

If you’re collecting your wood yourself, you will want to get well ahead to allow it to dry out in time for winter heating.

If you’re ordering firewood from a dealer, they frequently will have seasoned wood for sale, but the closer you get to heating season the less likely you are to find that. If you order fresh-cut wood now, you can season it yourself, but most experts recommend drying it for a year before you burn it.

Burning green wood wastes some of its potential heating value and creates more creosote, the fuel for chimney fires.

The target moisture content for wood stove fuel is about 20 percent, both Manchester and Hopke agree. Any more than 25 percent could result in wasted fuel and perhaps the dreaded creosote buildup, Hopke said.

“Based on how I see many people piling their wood, they won’t get down to 20 percent,” Manchester said.

To properly cure wood, Manchester said, “give it as much time as possible.” Many experts recommend a year’s worth of drying, depending on the wood and the conditions. Manchester said he has a pile curing not for this coming winter but for the winter after that.

Second, “also think in terms of trying to take advantage of as much sun and wind as possible.” Manchester, who has been using wood for heat over almost his entire 66 years, says his curing wood is in a spot “where it will capture the most direct sunlight and allow plenty of air circulation.”

It may seem contrary to common sense, but covering the pile, “on the top, not the sides,” can aid the drying process. That will keep rain or snow off the top and still allow air to circulate.

“If you can get the bottom of the pile up off the wet ground, even better,” he said. As long as it sits on the ground, it might dry but will readily reabsorb moisture when it’s in contact with it. “And you could be bringing mold into the house” if it sits on the ground.

So how do you know when your wood is at 20 percent moisture?

“The cost of a basic wood moisture meter is down to $30 or $40,” Manchester said, and Hopke said for the price, it’s a good deal.

“It makes a lot of sense to use a moisture monitor, to test your wood before you start bringing it into the house,” Hopke said.

If the wood isn’t properly seasoned, “too much energy goes into boiling off moisture and not into heating your house,” he said. And the fire will not burn as hot, leaving more byproducts unburned, much of which could coat your chimney pipe with creosote.

As for maintaining the stove, the chimney pipe and the chimney, you could do it yourself, “but it’s a dirty job and you might not have the right tools, and you don’t want to kill yourself working on the roof,” he said.

“A professional can check to see if the stove and chimney are properly configured” to make sure there are no leaks and everything is in place.

The age of the stove could be a factor.

“A lot of people have old, out-of-date appliances, and the technology has improved. The new ones are more efficient and safer,” Hopke said.

“You don’t have to run out and buy a new appliance,” he said, but you might consider it, and in the meantime “your installation should be checked for efficiency and safety.”

Manchester, who serves as the wood heat project coordinator for the Local Living Venture (LocalLivingVenture.org), says now is the time for chimney maintenance.

“You don’t want to be cleaning your chimney during an ice storm in January,” he said.

You can clean your chimney yourself, but you should have the right tools – mainly extension rods that attach to a stiff brush to match the diameter of your pipe. You can check for creosote buildup with a mirror to look at the pipe through a cleanout door that is installed in most chimneys. People with stainless steel chimney pipe sections should use a special brush that won’t scratch the steel, he said. “And check it regularly,” especially if you’re doing a lot of burning in the winter,” Manchester said.

With the stove off, you might also disassemble the sections of chimney pipe right at the stove to check and clean them, but be sure to reassemble them correctly, “using furnace cement at the joints,” Manchester said. “The pipe is crimped at one end, so if you can see the crimps when you put it back together and you haven’t cemented, you might get smoke inside the house.” And he quotes one of his favorite wood stove experts, Phil Hopke, who told him “If you can see smoke or smell smoke, that’s your money being wasted.”

Manchester also warns that after burning low fires in the fall before it gets really cold could result in more creosote, and when the first cold snap comes and you build a hot fire, that could be when the chimney catches if it hasn’t been cleaned.

On the Local Living Venture web site, there are links to resources for people who burn wood for heat, and for those who are considering it, at http://www.sustainablelivingproject.net/resources-links.