The Dangers of the Traditional Wood Burning Fireplace
By: Jessica Brylan
Just in the last week, traditional wood burning fireplaces have once again become a big part of the news because of how dangerous they can be. The regional area of San Francisco has tried to place a ban on them for their own particular reasons. But, there are other reasons why they should become a thing of the past and people should move to Ventless Gel Fireplaces.
Plenty of articles have been written about the hazardous concerns to the environment when smoke actually carries with it contaminants that pollute the air. Other articles have been written about the damage traditional wood burning fires cause the home when mildew and other harmful fungi are brought in and burned. But, rarely do we see the most obvious forms of danger they can bring into a home.
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a man was recently injured very severely after he fell into a fireplace. He knelt down to poke the fire and ended up falling face first onto the grate inside it. He was rushed to the ER at DCH Regional Medical Center where officials said he suffered injuries to his orbital area and an artery was bleeding.
Having a traditional wood burning fire in the home was necessary a hundred years ago, but it was dangerous then as well. Anyone can see that placing a fire in the home can most likely cause someone to get burned. There are plenty of ways adults and especially children can get burned from having a fire in the home. It's obvious and many people simply ignore the signs.
But, getting burned is not the only way a fire in the home can cause problems. In Austin, Minnesota, a man fell asleep in the home while the fireplace was burning. He awoke to severe smoke rolling throughout the home. The fire personnel took about an hour and a half to extinguish the blaze and clear the scene. The damage tally wasn't reported in the news, but it's imaginably large. Something you would need insurance to cover.
Having a spark fly out of the fireplace is not likely but possible. The thing that people don't realize is that something flammable can get into the fireplace and then who knows how much damage that will cause. Two stories are in the news and that's just in the last week. There's bound to be more because it's fireplace season.
The thing is that the Ventless Gel Fireplace actually has safeties in place. In this case, there is no reason to poke at the fire. Once set, it burns itself and can be left alone.
The safest part of the Ventless Gel is the fact that it has a screen in place. Nothing gets into it and nothing comes out of it. Gel Fuel doesn't throw any sparks and it sits inside a firebox.
The need for a traditional wood burning fire in the home has long outworn its welcome. For very obvious reason, we need to start looking at alternative ways to supply our homes with heat in the stylish mode that the traditional fireplace offers. But, we also need to get away from the dangers it brings.
