Fireplace

Danger lurks in your fireplace By JULIE E. GREENE Staff Writer With the arrival of the first heavy snowfall and frigid temperatures, the urge to light up the fireplace has hit many area homes. Fire and safety officials want to ensure that is all that is lit up. Residents with fireplaces, real or fake, need to take proper precautions and maintenance steps so they can enjoy the warmth of the fire and lessen potential hazards. Washington County firefighters responded to at least two chimney fires last week, one which displaced the homeowner temporarily, fire officials said.

Hagerstown mason David L. Geller has two reasons for preferring masonry heaters and Rumford fireplaces to traditional fireplaces. Backed by a stack of articles and books covering his dining room table, Geller claims they're both more efficient heat sources and cleaner burning. A centrally located masonry heater - which thrives on small pieces of wood that would burn too fast for a fireplace - can be used as a primary heat source because it will continue to radiate heat long after the fire burns out, he said.

laurae@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - A Hagerstown family's home was damaged Friday by a fire caused by errant fireplace coals. Trudy Clukey said her family thought the ashes were cold when they placed them in a cardboard box in the downstairs family room of the house at 10300 Bear Creek Drive. The ashes apparently overheated and set the room on fire, said Funkstown Fire Co. Assistant Chief Kevin Kotanko. No one was home when the fire started. Clukey said she came home to see smoke billowing out of the chimney of her brick and gray-siding split-level about 2:30 p.m. Firefighters arrived to find smoke pouring out all the windows.

Q: How should I arrange furniture in a large contemporary living room with a fireplace on one wall adjoining a window on the side wall, with the space open to the dining area? I plan to buy a new sofa, but I have no idea where to position it. We like modern sophisticated things. What's your advice about arranging them to best enjoy the fireplace? A: One superb solution is to buy two sofas, not one. Or two love seats, alike or not, and set them at right angles to your fireplace wall with a cocktail table between them.

A fire ignited beneath a fireplace at a house in Hagerstown early Friday, causing severe damage to the basement and first-floor living room, firefighters said. The fire broke out at about 12:30 a.m. at 915 Oak Hill Ave., said Hagerstown Fire Department Capt. Kyd Dieterich. Dieterich said firefighters believe the fire began when ashes and debris from the fireplace ignited in the ash pan. The fire caused heavy damage to the basement and then climbed the walls into the first floor, he said.

This is the 110th in a series of articles about the historic and architectural treasures of Washington County By PAT SCHOOLEY photos: KEVIN G. GLBERT / staff photographer Dog Creek flows just north of the juncture of Nicodemus Mill and Dogstreet roads, a small run in a fertile valley. On the east side of the road, a small stone cottage with a double porch looks north across the stream toward the collapsing foundations of Nicodemus Mill, barely visible amid vegetation.

HAGERSTOWN ? It took only a few minutes. Aaron and Melissa Gettel were sleeping, and minutes later they were watching smoke fill their home and evacuating with three young children. "As soon as he said there was smoke in the basement, I got the kids out ... barefoot," Melissa, 41, said. The home they rented on Guilford Avenue in Hagerstown was all but destroyed by a fire that spread through the interior walls early Sunday. Hagerstown firefighters say that working smoke alarms and quick thinking saved their lives.

katec@herald-mail.com The fireplace in the kitchen of Kristin and Rob Grosh's 1780 stone farmhouse near Smithsburg is 12 feet wide. The family doesn't build a lot of fires in the winter because the double flues pull the heat out of the house. But the fireplace roars in the spring and fall. "I love the smell of a fire," Kristin Grosh said. She will cook parts of her Thanksgiving dinner at the open hearth. The food is cooked - not in the fire, but on the coals.

o This is the 173rd in a series of articles about the historical and architectural treasures of Washington County. Mount Briar Road runs south-southeast from Dogstreet Road below Keedysville. Built on a hill close to the road stands a large log house with successive stone wings stepping up the rise. A broad, fenced yard stretches to the left. On the right, near the small run that meanders north of the house, stands a stone springhouse and a summer kitchen with plank walls and a massive stone chimney.

The cause of an April 5 house fire near Smithsburg has been ruled accidental, resulting from a decorative electrical fireplace malfunction, the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office said Monday. Losses in the fire at the two-story single family dwelling at 22535 Cavetown Church Road was determined to be about $35,000 - $10,000 to the building and another $25,000 to the home's contents, according to a news release from the state fire marshal's office news release. Two pets - a dog and a cat - died in the fire.

This is the 193rd in a series of articles about the historical and architectural treasures of Washington County. Crickhollow Farm is part of the Beaver Creek community that built up around an early mill in the 18th century. This farm faces both the creek and Cool Hollow Road at the northeast corner of its intersection with Beaver Creek Road. Cool Hollow Road stops at this intersection, becoming the farm's driveway on the north as it continues, a single lane track winding up the hill to yet another small stone house.

This is the 191st in a series of articles about the historical and architectural treasures of Washington County. An allee of ancient maples marks the long lane leading north off the National Pike, west of Hagerstown. Set well back among pastures, Rocky Spring farmstead stands on a slight rise, with wetlands to the west and lawns around the structures. Rock outcrops abound across the landscape. A tenant house on the west nestles into the earth, standing on early stone foundations above a spring.

This is the 188th in a series of articles about the historical and architectural treasures of Washington County. Near Smithsburg is a short road, once called Georgetown Road, that was recently renamed Federal Lookout Road to honor the Union's effort to keep track of J.E.B. Stuart as he protected Lee's retreat from Gettysburg, Pa. Federal Lookout Road crosses Crystal Falls Drive and heads up South Mountain. Homes along it are scattered. A small subdivision stands to the north.

Dear Pat: Whenever we use our great room fireplace, some smoke comes out into the room. I am going to add one to the master bedroom. How can I keep the new fireplace from being smoky like the old one? - Patty M. Dear Patty: You definitely are not alone with the problem of a smoky wood-burning fireplace. More than half of fireplaces cause some smoky conditions inside homes and it is difficult to ever totally rid the room of the smoky odor. There are many possible causes of a smoky fireplace.

Q: How should I arrange furniture in a large contemporary living room with a fireplace on one wall adjoining a window on the side wall, with the space open to the dining area? I plan to buy a new sofa, but I have no idea where to position it. We like modern sophisticated things. What's your advice about arranging them to best enjoy the fireplace? A: One superb solution is to buy two sofas, not one. Or two love seats, alike or not, and set them at right angles to your fireplace wall with a cocktail table between them.

I am reminded of a recent home improvement ad in my local newspaper that proclaimed, "Improve, don't move!" Exactly right. These days, a good percentage of Americans, wherever they live, are simply focused on keeping their home, not necessarily planning remodels. But this time of year, as days begin to shorten and temperatures crisp, we humans sense an invigorating change. Nights become longer and nature puts on a luscious display if you live in New England, Appalachia, the Smokey Mountains or the mighty Rockies.

By ROSE BENNETT GILBERT Creators Syndicate Q: I am at a loss about furniture arranging. Our living room has a fireplace in the center of one wall - windows opposite - and open doorways on both ends leading from the hallway to the sun porch. We are about to buy a new sofa, but there's no wall. Where should I put it? I love the warmth and formality of traditional-style decorating. Can you help? A: Don't buy just "a sofa," buy two! Ditto for other furnishings you're adding to your new home.

o This is the 173rd in a series of articles about the historical and architectural treasures of Washington County. Mount Briar Road runs south-southeast from Dogstreet Road below Keedysville. Built on a hill close to the road stands a large log house with successive stone wings stepping up the rise. A broad, fenced yard stretches to the left. On the right, near the small run that meanders north of the house, stands a stone springhouse and a summer kitchen with plank walls and a massive stone chimney.

SMITHSBURG - When Ken Kilheffer was younger he wanted to go into carpentry. Instead he became a pastor. Since he and his wife, Sari, bought her brother's former home on North Main Street in May 2000, Kilheffer has had plenty of opportunities to put his amateur carpentry skills to work. The bathroom needed major work and walls needed to be fixed. The couple needed shelving installed in a storage room and wanted to refresh the sealed fireplace's decor. The couple hired professionals to do the big jobs such as putting on a new roof, tearing down a load-bearing wall between the dining and living rooms, and spraying liquid siding on the exterior of the brick home.