It’s getting colder, and people are getting ready to light up those fireplaces to stay warm during the winter months.
October 9 - 14 is National Fire Prevention Week, a week dedicated to informing people about ways to reduce fire hazards.
The Midwest Chimney Safety Council states there are certain steps to take before lighting that fireplace.
"We're just trying to bring awareness to chimney fires and carbon monoxide poisoning that can happen when there's a faulty chimney," Midwest Chimney Safety Council President Marge Padgitt said.
Brooke Morris of Blue Springs, Missouri, said she and her husband are doing what they can to prepare.
"I have been wanting to light fires since we got here, and we just decided this was the time to do it," Morris said. "I'm in the residential real estate world, and I know how dangerous it is to run a fire without checking to make sure that it's a safe place to run a fire."
A chimney sweep is a good place to start.?
"One of the things that we do is sweep chimneys to remove creosote that's flammable and in that way, we reduce the risk of chimney fires," Padgitt said. "But more importantly, the inspection part of the process is done in order to check to see if there are any problems on the interior of the chimney or the exterior; anything that could be a fire hazard or a carbon monoxide hazard."
According to the National Fire Protection Association, it's recommended that chimneys are cleaned and inspected once a year.
Padgitt said generally speaking, it's once a year for an open fire place and twice a year for a wood burning stove or fireplace insert.
"There are about 15,000 per year that are recorded and many many more thousands that are not ," Padgitt said. "There's a lot of damage out there that people aren't aware of. They need to have their chimney checked before they use it."
With winter right around the corner, Morris said she doesn't want to take any chances.
"You don't want to light a fire and that be the reason you don't have a home anymore," Morris said. "It's a wonderful thing to have a home, so make sure you keep it up and keep it safe."
Padgitt highly encourages new homeowners to hire a chimney inspector before you buy the home because oftentimes there could be problems that can be very expensive to fix later.
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