Brentwood firefighters attack flames in Governors Club last month.

TVs, mantels look good but may be dangerous
By KERRI BARTLETT
For Brentwood Home Page
Ironically, just hours before Brentwood Fire & Rescue Department’s 25^th anniversary celebration and inaugural Fire Prevention Festival began, all four of the department’s stations were responding to a huge fire that caused extensive damage to a Governors Club home.

Chief Brian Goss used the overnight fire of Oct. 14-15 to inform city residents that this can be the most dangerous time of the year for structure fires.

“As we enter into the winter season, all citizens are reminded to have their fireplace chimneys inspected annually,” Goss said at the time. Though an exact cause for the Oxmoor Court blaze has not been released, it is suspected that it began in or near a fireplace.

Brentwood Fire Marshal Nancy Jones shared a few tips on keeping the fireplace area safe in order to prevent a tragedy – especially if you plan to mount a flat-screen TV over a fireplace.

In addition to traditional chimney fires, “electrical wires and gas lines in the chimney area can become a source of ignition,” Jones said. “Have the fireplace examined by a professional.”

Jones warns that when installing anything electrical or adding electrical outlets, homeowners should have the space inspected by an electrical inspector to ensure that state safety standards are met. Also, make sure that your contractor obtains an electrical permit for any additional electrical installations.

To keep Brentwood residents safe, Jones summed up a few seasonal safety tips to protect homes from fire as fall and winter approach:

• Have fireplaces inspected to make sure electric wires and gas lines are safe.
• Have heater and general HVAC checked for proper functioning.
• Have wood burning stoves and fireplaces cleaned annually by a professional. Keep area heaters at least three feet away from combustible items and surfaces.
• Don’t leave cooking unattended. Jones said that around the holidays people spend more time cooking and should be careful.
• Don’t leave burning candles unattended. Keep candles away from combustible materials.
• Do not run extension cords under rugs or through areas that experience heavy foot traffic.
• Make sure batteries are fresh in both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and test both frequently.
• Be sure to contact a licensed heating contractor immediately with any furnace problems. Fireplaces designed for gas logs are not engineered to accommodate wood burning fires.

Certain types of roofing can contribute to a fire’s progression, especially in the large, complex rooflines often incorporated in Brentwood’s executive-size homes. For example, a slate roof is heavy and the material tends to hold in the heat. When the roofing structure begins to give due to fire, the heavy slate could accelerate the roof’s collapse. Also, unique, elaborate roof structures can inhibit the fire department from detecting a fire’s progression to the attic.

Jones said that homes without pull down stairs or a stairway leading directly up to the attic, finding the void spaces can be difficult until the fire ultimately burns through the roof. 

For example, Goss stated that the roof structure of the burned Governor’s Club home “was complex and the attic contained several cuts and void spaces which enabled the fire to travel unchecked. The home also contained a heavy slate roof which held the heat, impeded roof-top ventilation, and lead to early roof collapse simply due to sheer weight [27 pounds per square foot].

“Heavy slate tiles the size and weight of bricks were falling around fire personnel all night,” he said.

Although the importance of a home is secondary to its inhabitants, hopefully with these tips in mind, others can be helped to prevent tragedy in the future.