BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It almost always starts the same; you light a cozy fire to warm up the house, but too often, that relaxing comfort can turn deadly.
"On average, over 900 people die every year in home fires during the winter,” said Tiger Schmittendorf, Erie County EMS Deputy Fire Coordinator. “We see more residential fires during the winter months than any other time of year. The most prevalent cause of home fires is cooking, but aside from that, certainly heating fires are a major cause.”
Chimney fires can be particularly dangerous because often times people don't notice them until it's too late.
"You can get incomplete combustion, which can produce carbon monoxide, which can come back into the home," said Schmittendorf.
"A fire can get outside the chimney and run into the rest of the house," said Kurt Felgemacher, Felgemacher Masonry Partner and Certified Chimney Sweep. "I've talked to the Buffalo Fire Department, and they see it all the time where they go to a house and it starts in the chimney and runs through the rest of the house."
But there are a few things you can do to reduce your risk for getting a chimney fire, and that includes an annual inspection.
"We have two different cameras on our scanner. We have one that looks up straight vertically, and we have one that looks straight to the side, so that we're able to rotate the camera right and left to make sure that while we're going up it, we don't see any damage to the chimney liner on the inside. And then we look vertically to make sure there's no blockage when we're going up," said Felgemacher.
"Making sure that they're only burning good, solid hardwoods, making sure that they're not burning paper or cardboard or things of that nature. That can get stuck on the creosote or the actual liner of the chimney" said Schmittendorf.
If you look into the chimney and notice a building up of one eighth of an inch of creosote it is critical to call a chimney sweep immediately. And of course make sure to have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.