Experts offer safety tips after wood stove causes fire in Bois D'Arc MO

January 12, 2011|by Jay Scherder, KY3 News | jscherder@ky3.com

BOIS D'ARC, Mo -- Frigid weather is prompting more people to use wood burning stoves to keep warm. A family in western Greene County knows all too well that they can be dangerous. Fire crews in Bois D'Arc say the house fire was started because the family's wood burning stove wasn't properly installed.

"Any cracks, any place where heat can get through, it's going to," said Ash Grove Fire Chief Tony Monnig.

That was the case in a house fire on Tuesday night.

"I would recommend not ever putting your own wood stove in. You should have a professional come out and do it," Monnig said.

In that case, the wood stove wasn't installed professionally

"Wood takes 350 degrees continuously to make it burn," said Smitty's Chimney Sweep and Stoves owner Vern Smitt.

"They miss one step, one small step, and that creates all the opening a fire needs to get through; all that heat needs. It's more of a heat issue than a flame issue," said Monnig.

Smitt installs wood stoves and has seen what happens when people try to do it on their own.

"He stuck a wood stove in, built wood right around it, burned his house down in the second fire he built," he saaid, talking about a man who bought a stove from his business. "He was not insured; he's building it himself."

Smitt also has advice for anyone kicking on the heat this time of year.

"Having your chimney cleaned is the first thing you do," he said.

Often times people forget or don't want to pay the fee to get it done.

"January and February are the biggest flue fire months of the year because people don't have it clean in the spring, summer, and the fall," Smitt said.

That simple step can save your house from going up in flames.

If you think you can handle installing a wood stove on your own, just make sure to call a professional to inspect the stove before you load it up with wood and light the match. Another tip from the Ash Grove Fire department is to not burn paper. Start your fires with kindling instead. Paper can often times not burn all the way and get stuck in your chimney. That paper will ignite and catch the rest of the chimney on fire.

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