10/16/2026
🔥 Warming Up Safely, Collegeville! Let's Not
Turn Our Cozy Fires into 9-1-1 Calls🔥
The cooler weather is arriving over the weekend, and it's time for the season of hot cocoa, fuzzy blankets, and that perfect crackling fire. It truly is the best!
However, as soon as those temperatures drop, we start seeing a significant increase in calls related to chimney fires. Please, let's keep the flames inside the fireplace and the emergency lights off! We're here to help, but we'd much rather see you at a community event than on your roof.
To keep your cozy atmosphere safe and your chimney from hosting an unplanned firework show, the Collegeville Fire Company asks you to check these safety essentials:
🏡 Keep Your Hearth Happy and Healthy
The best way to prevent a chimney fire is good maintenance—it’s cheaper than a new house, and far less stressful!
👀Annual Inspection is Key: Have a certified professional (a chimney sweep) inspect your system every year. They look for that nasty, flammable villain known as creosote. Don't skip it! Think of it as a required annual tune-up for your home's biggest fire hazard.
🧹Clean Regularly: If you're using your fireplace frequently, creosote builds up faster than your collection of mismatched socks. Get it cleaned! A dirty chimney is simply a fuel line for a fire.
🔥 Burn Only Dry, Seasoned Wood: Wet, green wood burns slow, smokes a lot, and makes sticky creosote. Use dry, seasoned wood for a cleaner fire. Plus, it actually puts out heat—win-win!
📏 Mind the Mantel: Keep flammable holiday decorations, stockings, and throw blankets a safe distance from the flames. Your fireplace is for burning wood, not wrapping paper.
🔔Install and Test Smoke/CO Alarms: This is non-negotiable. Test your alarms monthly. If they start "chirping" for a new battery, replace it immediately. That chirping sound is their way of nagging you—don't ignore your life-saving device!
🗑️Properly Dispose of Ashes: Ashes can stay hot for days! DO NOT dump them in a plastic trash can. Scoop them into a metal container with a tight lid and place it outside, well away from anything combustible (like a deck or shed), on concrete or dirt. It’s the final, crucial step!
We are proud to serve Collegeville, and we want everyone to enjoy a warm, safe winter season. A little maintenance goes a long way!
Stay warm, stay safe, and keep those chimneys clean!
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