No central heating, so I used to occasionally start a fire in my
livingroom fireplace. The wood I burned was from my two plum trees,
using some white paper scrap from my scrap printer paper to start things
or other scrap paper without colored inks.

Wayne, are you there? Wayne Whitney who traffics this newsgroup told me
that fireplaces release particulate matter which has been shown to
shorten one's life.

Well, last year I stopped making fires, not wanting to suffer from the
smoke. I had noticed a not nice smell after fires, but staying warm had
me still doing it in he winter. I used to just make a small fire to get
nice and toasty and after 10-15 minutes, I'd put no more wood on the
small fire and let it burn out. I don't hang out in my living room,
anyway and have other things to do.

So I was talking to an insurance agent the other day and the
conversation turned to home insurance and the fact that I don't have
central heating. That fact seems to be a showstopper when applying for
standard home owner's policies (I currently have California Fair Plan
policy, which is basically fire with few little addenda). I mention that
I've stopped burning wood in the fireplace because I heard that the
particulate matter released is detrimental to the inhabiants' health. He
says "depends on what kind of wood you're burning."

So, how much truth is there in what he said, and how is plum tree wood
in the spectrum?

Dan


Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net