The first true snowfall made it's way into the Foothills October 7 and that means sooner than later you'll see many homes have a fire going or using a wood stove to stay warm or just accept the inevitable that is winter.

But when you're starting up your fire place or wood stove for the first time you'll want to make sure you eliminate hazards that you may not even see with the naked eye.

Okotoks fire Chief Ken Thevenot says with the warm weather this week, there isn't a better time to clean your chimneys.

"For fire places this is a good time of year to get out, this week is supposed a little bit sunnier. It may be a good time to do that clean-up on your chimneys right now before you start to get into the burning season," he says.

Overtime creosote develops inside a chimney which can be flammable if the chimney is not cleaned and Thevenot says the easiest way to get rid of it is by simply using a chimney brush.

"Sometimes you can see from the bottom of your chimney up or you can look down from your roof. Take your chimney cap off and look down and you can get a chimney brush and actually run a brush up and down through to get any remaining creosote that potential could be in the chimney lining."

Thevenot says one of the best ways to prevent creosote from building up is to make sure the wood you're burning hasn't been exposed to any moisture.

"The problem is with the heating and cooling of your temperature outside when your burning your wood it creates that creosote on your chimney and the type of wood of burning if it's a little bit wet that's when you create the creosote in your chimney line. So you want to make sure the wood you're burning is dry."

For more safety tips on wood stoves and fire places, Thevenot says the fire department is always available to answer any questions and come out to your home and check your chimneys anytime.

You can find their contact number here.

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