Lighting a fire in a fireplace is usually an easy task. Because of this, we may forget a few key steps in the process that might help us enjoy the fire better. What could have been a nice night by the fire can easily become a smoke-filled disaster. Here is a recommended method that if followed, should help make your fire enjoyable from the start.

1. Place several wads of paper in the fireplace.
2. Lay small dry sticks of kindling on top. (Kindling can be cut-up logs, small branches or pieces of wood that are easily ignitable.)
3. Open the damper.
4. Check to see that the chimney is unobstructed and that the room is adequately ventilated.
5. Light the paper. (Never use kerosene, paint thinner, gasoline or charcoal lighter to light the paper.)
6. Once the kindling ignites, add several logs to the fire. Be careful not to smother the fire. Stack the pieces of wood near enough to each other so they keep each other hot, but far enough away to allow an adequate flow of air between the logs.
7. Use smaller logs, which burn fast and hot, when starting a fire. When ready, add larger logs, which burn slowly and hold a fire longer
8. Sit back and relax 🙂

It is recommended that annual chimney inspections are done to ensure safety. If it’s never been done, or it’s been a while, please give us a call before you light a fire to perform a chimney inspection- 781-893-6611

Here is a great article we found on Wikipedia with many visuals for lighting a fire!

You can also try a top-down burn! https://www.csia.org/top_down_burn.html