Though many of us don’t want to admit summer is quickly coming to an end, it’s inevitable that the weather is going to continue to get cooler over the coming months.

Perry Fire Chief Chris Hinds says now is a good time to make sure your fireplaces and chimneys are cleared and ready for use.

“A lot of times if your wood is not well seasoned or depending on the type of word it is, you have the tendency to build up creosote in your pipes and so forth.  So before you fire that up in the fall it’s always a good idea to, if not clean it yourself or you’re not capable of cleaning it yourself, to have someone come in and clean your chimney.  They make special metal brushes and stuff you can run up and down in there and kind of knock out the creosote and stuff that could cause a chimney fire.”

Hinds also warns about things like leaves and animals getting stuck in chimneys over the summer, which adds to the importance of clearing them out before the first fire of the season.