The holiday season is a wonderful time

of year when friends and family gather ‘round the fire to keep Jack Frost from nipping at their nose.

It’s a time of year many people use to reflect on the past and look blissfully into the future.
And while we all at MCP Chimney hope you and your family have a festive holiday season, we also want it to be safe.

After all, chestnuts should be roasted on an open, and safe, fire.

There are several ways to ensure the safety of you and your family and friends when burning a fire, including:

• Using a fire screen to keep hot embers from popping into the living space, potentially injuring someone or damaging nearly flammable objects, including carpeting.
• Keeping children and pets away from the fire at all times. There’s no substitution for watching them carefully, but investing in a screen that creates a perimeter around the fireplace will help keep pets and children free from harm.
• Never leave a fire unattended.
• Never burn garbage, charcoal, plastic or Christmas trees in the fireplace. Only well-seasoned wood should be burned.
• Ensuring your chimney is professionally cleaned and thoroughly inspected annually. A professional chimney cleaning company can rid your chimney of creosote, a dangerous by-product of burning that adheres to the interior of your chimney and can catch on fire in intense heat.

At MCP Chimney, we can help make sure your fireplace and chimney are operating safely and at peak efficiency. We also will inspect your chimney and recommend any necessary repairs. If you haven’t had your chimney professionally cleaned and inspected in the past 12 months, we encourage you to do so. If you have, we hope we were able to exceed your expectations, leaving you satisfied with our work.

If you have any concerns about your fireplace or chimney, or would like other tips to stay safe when burning fires this holiday season, please contact us.

In the meantime, from the MCP Chimney family to yours, happy holidays!