I inherited my dad's house. Growing up as a kid, and to the present day,
we burn whatever wood nature and convenient access bring our way. We've
burned everything from all softwood (pine, hemlock, spruce), to all
hardwood (oak, maple, birch) to any mix in between. Never a chimney
fire, never a wood stove fire, ever. We happen to have metal lined
flues, which are cleaned annually in late summer or early autumn. A few
neighbors and relatives with masonry chimneys and (we believe) a
somewhat less rigorous sweeping schedule, have had fires. No homes lost,
but it did scare the bejeezus out of the occupants.

In my experience well seasoned pine will burn hot and fast, and thus
reasonably clean. Perhaps not as clean as well cured hardwood, but not
so much worse as to cause worry in any given year.

In sum, it is not the wood that you use but the care of the fireplace
and chimney that should be of prime concern to you.

And in spite of our (nearly 75 years combined) experience we still have
some chimney fire extinguisher sticks (they look and are lit like
highway flares) within easy reach -- for the same reasons that there are
fire extinguishers in the basement, kitchen and laundry room -- hey, you
just never know when you may need one and it's better to have it and not
need it than to need it and not have it at hand. The local fire company
has several on board on every run they make, and they've saved more than
a few homes with them over the years, too.

OTOH if that pine is clear in four foot plus lengths you might just
resaw it into boards. Clear S4S pine sells for quite a premium.

J.


wrote:
I have some pine that I would like to use as firewood. I have yet to
split and season these pieces yet. I am trying to find out if it is
really as safe as a hardwood to burn indoors in a fireplace. If not I
can burn outdoors in the bowl.