Winter-Ready Checklist for Your Stove and Fuel

The 10 checks

1. Book the chimney sweep. HETAS encourages sweeping at least twice a year when burning wood, and says the best time is just before the heating season. The National Association of Chimney Sweeps and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue recommend four times a year for wood. See how often to sweep your chimney.
2. Make sure no birds have nested. Jackdaws are well known for nesting in chimneys, the RSPB says, usually from April to June. A sweep removes old nests. It's an offence to damage a nest while it's in use or being built under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, so leave nests found in spring and early summer until the birds have gone.
3. Have the stove serviced. HETAS recommends a service at least once a year, and Hunter says preferably before the start of the heating season.
4. Check the door seals. Woodwarm says a good rope seal lightly grips a piece of paper shut in the door. Stovax says not to use the stove if a seal is damaged.
5. Look over the inside. Check the grate, firebricks and baffle for damage, as Stovax advises. Hunter says to look for seriously cracked bricks, and Morsø says to check the baffle for debris.
6. Test your alarms. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue says to test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms monthly, and HETAS says to replace a CO alarm before its expiry date. See our log burner safety checklist.
7. Stock up on dry fuel. Woodsure says a winter supply is somewhere between 1.5 and 3 cubic metres of seasoned hardwood. Burn only wood at 20% moisture or less, and keep it under cover. See firewood moisture content.
8. Get a metal ash bucket. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue says to put ashes in a metal bin with a lid at least a metre from your home, and never in a wheelie bin. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue says hot ash can take several days to cool.
9. Put a fireguard in place. Stovax says to use a fireguard to BS 8423 when young children are around, and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue says to always use one with an open fire.
10. Check what you can burn. In a smoke control area, only an exempt stove can burn wood. See am I in a smoke control area?.

What are the signs of a chimney fire?

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue lists a loud roaring noise as air is sucked through the stove, sparks or flames from the top of the chimney, and the appliance vibrating. If it happens:

• Shut the stove's air controls, as Stovax says.
• Get everyone out, stay out and call 999, as Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue advises.
• Have the chimney checked by a sweep before you use it again.

Why does winter matter so much?

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue says its firefighters attended 68 chimney fires in 2022, and that around 40 percent of chimney fires in England happen between January and March. Most start in tar and soot from wet wood or fires kept low. Dry wood, burned hot, and a swept chimney cut the risk.