Fire Safety - 26 years of burning wood

by BRUCKS BERNIE
(BENSALEM,PA.19020)

Hello,my name is Bernie,I have had experience burning wood primarily. It is the best not the cleanest but not the worst. I have never had a close call or even near it. Remember, if your fire should get too hot to keep a handful of salt,any type will do. This is a great thing to know. BERNIE

Hi Bernie,

Thanks for your tip. I know that over heating or out of control fires in a stove are a worry for some people. This can happen if you don't control the air draft sufficiently - as it gets hotter and hotter the chimney drafts ever more strongly.

You can also set one off by burning the wrong fuel (eg plastics in a wood stove) which burns much more quickly and cannot be regulated.

Using something to quench the fire can help bring things back under control again.

You suggest salt, but actually any powder that isn't flammable would do the job. It works by forming a layer on the fuel preventing air from getting to it. Personally I would avoid salt (and also drift wood from the beach) because salt could corrode the metal body of the stove.

All the best,

Mike