Is my fireplace safe to use this winter? A pre-season checklist

Before the first cold night in Cary, Crystal Lake or Barrington, take ten minutes with a flashlight. None of this replaces a yearly inspection, but it will tell you whether something obvious needs attention before you strike a match.

Inside the house

• Open and close the damper. It should move freely and close fully.
• Shine a light up past the damper. Look for nests, leaves or loose debris.
• Check the firebox for cracked or missing bricks and gaps in the mortar joints.
• Look for a shiny, flaky or tar-like black coating — that is creosote, and it means a sweep is due.
• Test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and put in fresh batteries.

Outside, from the ground

• Is there a cap on top of the flue? A missing cap lets in rain, birds and animals.
• Look for leaning, missing or crumbling bricks and white staining on the chimney.
• Check the ceiling and walls next to the chimney for water stains.

For gas fireplaces and logs

Make sure the pilot lights and stays lit, the glass is clean and uncracked, and there is no gas smell. If you ever smell gas, do not light it — leave the house and call your gas company.

When to stop and call

Anything you are unsure about on this list is a reason to have it inspected before you burn. If it has been more than a year since your last inspection, book one anyway — most of what we find, like crown cracks or a smoke chamber problem, cannot be seen from the living room. And if the flue is coated in soot, it needs a cleaning first: a technician cannot inspect what the soot is hiding.