It’s National Fire Prevention Week and as the weather cools down there are some safety reminders to ensure there aren’t fires that happen during the fall and winter seasons.

Jefferson Fire Chief Jack Williams tells Raccoon Valley Radio to make sure if you use a chimney to heat your home that it is swept out of the creosote so that those materials don’t catch on fire and do the same type of maintenance for a wood burning stove, along with these other safety reminders.

“Just again make sure there’s no combustibles around the wood fireplace. You could also clean out the inside since the creosote does build up on the inside also. But the biggest thing is just making sure that the chimney’s been sweeped.”

Williams adds to also check and replace the furnace filter and have it properly checked by a professional before using it to heat your home.