Fireplaces always remind me of home; a winter snow fall outside, misty glass windows to watch the snow flakes fall and a blazing fire going – a family laughing around it, stories over hot chocolate.
Although I have to leave home for other endeavors, my fondness to fireplaces remained. I don’t think there is one thing in a house that can set so many different moods more than indoor fireplaces. The fire adds so much drama; the way the light dances, the glow on everything surrounding it and the warmth exclusive to its fire.

However, to get a dose of the joy brought by fireplaces, you should first know how to start a fire. Although the process is not rocket science, proper procedures still remained to be followed to ensure safety and satisfaction of the whole fireplace experience. By not taking precautions, you might only fill-up your house with unwelcome smoke, or worse, firemen trying to rescue your house from burning to the ground.

Well, to avoid the unnecessary fireplace-mishaps such as chimney-fires, I have provided a list of the proper steps to take in order for you to start a fire in your indoor fireplace the correct way. Additional suggestions are always welcome.

Birthing the Fire
• Before doing anything, check the damper in the fireplace and make sure it is open.
• Find a way to ensure that the air moving in the chimney is going up, this is called the draft. Try to use a lighted candle and put it inside the fireplace, you will see where the candle flame goes. If it’s not up, then find ways to make it move upward. If you cannot improvise, try to get some professional help. A nonfunctional draft causes smoke filling-up the house.
• Secure the wood necessary for burning. Use only dry wood. Ideally, firewood is dried for as long as one year. Dry hard wood like maple, hickory, cherry or oak are always advisable. The wood pieces should be about 4 inches on each side or in case of logs, 4 inches in diameter.
• Next, get some wood and kindling (small sticks or shards of wood), make a grate for setting up the fire. Under the grate, you can either place crumpled paper or any material that easily burns. In the absence of kindling, you can use commercial fire starters or pieces of dry fat-wood. Refrain from using burning pine, many fireplace accidents are caused by such.
• Stack more wood on top of the grate, make the stack horizontal but at the same time make sure that there are spaces left where air can pass. You can facilitate better burning by ensuring that air can freely pass through the wood stack. When stacking several layers of wood, alternate the logs in a way that it would not look like a mesh. But always keep in mind that you shouldn’t stack your wood higher that two-thirds the height of your fireplace.
• Finally, burn the kindling and the crumpled paper you placed under the grate. To minimize the amount of harmful materials released by combustion, always light the fire from above.
• Now all you have to do is wait until the fireplace heats the room to satisfaction.
Reminders:
• Keep inflammable liquids away from your fireplace.
• DO NOT burn plastics, paints, heavily commercialized paper or covers (these contain toxins which it emitted upon combustion). These among similar products might cause breathing problems and are likely to decrease the air quality inside your house.
• Fireplace ash should be PROPERLY disposed.
• Keep safety the first in your priorities. Install fireplace screens or spark arrestor or other accessories to accident-proof your fireplace.