Being Safe for Winter

Don’t wait till it snows to do this!

As winter slowly crawls up your doorstep, perhaps you should crawl up your chimney. Fire chief of the Madawaska Valley Township Fire Department, Corwin Quade, informs us that it’s important to protect your home from potential fires before the holiday season.

In fact, chief Quade says that fire alerts nearly double in the winter time due to accidents caused by heating units. Even though the fire department will not be conducting any chimney inspections, he mentions that cleaning your chimney is something you should be doing three times a year to make sure there is no obstruction (i.e: bird nests). Homeowners should be doing this in the spring, in the fall and in the winter.

When asked about the idea of homeowners cleaning their own chimney, chief Quade says that it’s a “hit or miss”. Though you can buy a chimney brush at your local hardware store, he suggests that you hire a professional to make sure it’s properly cleaned.

Chief Quade would like to advise the population that fire safety is especially important in the winter as many people don’t understand the maintenance required when it comes to dealing with wood heating. Safety is essential, because as chief Quade says, “you could go to sleep and never wake up”.