Safety Tips
We help ensure your gas fireplace gives you warmth and beauty in a safe manner. In addition to our in-home services, we want to share these safety tips with you.
- Be careful of the edges of a hearth extension. This is usually made of brick or stone, and children can easily run into the edge.
- If your fireplace glass is not a ceramic type, be extremely careful about anything that might expose it to sudden temperature changes, such as liquid spills. Not only does ceramic glass withstand higher temperatures than tempered glass (over 1300 degrees versus about 500 degrees), it won't shatter when it undergoes a sharp drop in temperature. The video below shows the dramatic difference between ceramic and tempered glass.
- Remember that the glass front of your fireplace can become very hot and can remain heated for up to an hour after you shut the unit off.
- Use a hearth screen or hearth gate on your fireplace, especially if young children are present in the home.
- Make sure you never use your fireplace to burn trash or documents, as they may release toxic fumes.
- Don't let decorations hang off your mantle, and keep the fireplace area clear. This not only ensures nothing in the area will catch fire, it eliminates the chance of someone tripping over something while near the fireplace.
- Keep a fire extinguisher in the same room as your fireplace and ensure everyone knows how to use it.
- Learn to recognize Five Danger Signs that are all too common with gas fireplaces.
- Help avoid the lethal danger of carbon monoxide poisoning by having your fireplace system serviced annually and by having a Level 2 Inspection performed on any unit in a house you're thinking about purchasing. Every home should have properly placed carbon monoxide detectors on each floor and in any room equipped with a gas burning appliance, including a fireplace.
We recommend this resource on identifying and minimizing common sources of carbon monoxide poisoning.
For more safety tips, see the safety category on our blog.