Wood Stove Safety

A building permit is required for the installation of new wood stoves, fireplaces, fireplace inserts or for the alteration of any existing system. Solid-fuel burning appliances must be installed according to the manufacturer's specifications and the Ontario Building Code. Please contact the Planning and Building Department to arrange for this permit at 258-4424.

Properly installed appliances must be operated safely and maintained regularly. Creosote accumulated in the flue and chimney is a normal by-product of combustion. The amount of creosote produced increases with the wetness of the wood. Decreasing the amount of combustion air by closing down the air controls increases the amount of creosote produced.

In order to avoid a chimney fire, caused by creosote build-up the following precautions should be taken;

• burn a hot, lively fire for a short period once or twice a day
• inspect the flue-pipe and chimney frequently
• clean flue-pipes regularly by dismantling and brushing them, chimneys should be cleaned regularly by brushing only
• never purposely start a chimney fire to clean out the creosote.

If a fire becomes too hot or gets out of control, it can be dampened down by placing water-soaked newspaper or cloth on the fire. Large quantities of rock salt will also dampen down fires. If you are in doubt about the safety of your wood stove installation, contact the Building Department at 258-4424.