Cozy holiday hearth might be health hazard, Pima County warns

As the holiday season roars on, Pima County officials are offering cautions about using fireplaces — which can be festive, but also potentially harmful to your health.

Fireplace smoke contains harmful gases and small particles that may be dangerous for pregnant women, babies, young children and people with heart disease or respiratory disease, the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality said in a release Friday.

Officials warn the toxic pollutants in wood smoke can irritate or burn the eyes, nose and throat and cause headaches, nausea, and acute bronchitis in some cases.

Though being in a home with a lit fireplace is cozy, the smoke may aggravate asthma symptoms, and in young children, cause lung inflammation and pneumonia. Walking through a neighborhood with many fireplaces in use can cause an irregular heartbeat, chest pain and shortness of breath.

The county also reminds residents that fireplaces may not even be very efficient at heating a chilly home — much of the hot air escapes up through the chimney, and wood particles can escape into the home.

Though if you’re insistent on using your fireplace this season — and who can blame you? — PDEQ recommends these tips to help reduce risks:

• Use multiple large candles in your fireplace instead of a fire. This creates the same warm flickering lights without the risks from burning wood.
• Clean chimneys seasonally to reduce creosote buildup.
• Burn hardwoods like oak, mesquite and pecan instead of soft woods like cedar, fir or pine. All wood should be split and dried for at least six months.
• Use smaller pieces of wood, which burn more efficiently and are a better source of heat.
• Maintain enough space in the fireplace for air to circulate freely.
• Never burn garbage, plastic, painted wood or plywood, charcoal or printed pages in a fireplace. They will release toxic materials into the air.
• Check your chimney from the outside occasionally while the fire is burning. If you see smoke, the fire is not hot enough. Give the fire more air and check again.
• Upgrade your fireplace to a more efficient wood-burning appliance.

If you can smell smoke, you and your neighbors are breathing smoke, the county said. Local officials advise potential fire-starters to check the county’s air quality website or download the EPA’s AirNow app to see if air pollution levels are elevated and if they are, avoid using the fireplace.