Bellows: a hand-operated air pump that's used for fireplaces without doors.

Flue: the column inside the chimney or stove pipe that circulates and creates a draft, thus feeding the necessary oxygen to the fire.

Damper: The plate or valve in the flue of a chimney or stove that regulates air flow.Grate: a metal structure present in some fireplaces (not in wood stoves) that supports the weight of the logs and kindling, and allows for optimum air circulation.

Kindling: The twigs and small branches that ignite the logs and provide the first base of coals for the fire.

2torial #0702: Learn2 Make a Fire in a Fireplace (Continued)   For materials, you need three categories of wood products: plain black and white newspaper, kindling, and logs. A few notes on these three components: Newspaper As you gather newspaper, remember one word: creosote. Creosote is a black, dusty yet sticky by-product of wood and wood fiber combustion. It coats the insides of chimneys and can eventually cause a chimney fire, which can be very destructive. So, you're best off using a moderate amount of newspaper. It's also a good idea to avoid using newspaper with color pictures or glossy advertisement inserts. Color inks contain chemicals which, at best, might smell bad when burned, and at worst, could be slightly toxic. You don't neccessarily have to cull all color from your stockpile of paper--but then again, you'll definitely want to avoid making a bonfire of your Christmas giftwrapping. Kindling Think of it this way: if your fire was a movie at a film festival, the kindling would get the award for best supporting actor. It has the crucial set-up role of generating flames hot enough to ignite the logs. And as they burn out into embers and slip into the background, the logs (the stars) get all of the attention. Very soft, resinous woods like pine or Georgia fatwood can be used as kindling, a few sticks at a time. (Don't use more than that, or again you're increasing the creosote levels unnecessarily.) Otherwise, use twigs and small branches that are about 1/4 - 1/2 inch (1-1.5 cm) thick and 12-18 inches (30-45 cm) long. Some lumber yards sell raw scrap lumber for kindling, which is usually kiln-dried and ignites very well. Not all lumber belongs in the fireplace, however; most finished or specially treated lumber will release potentially toxic chemicals when burned, so make sure you're getting raw, untreated lumber. Logs Logs are the main course of this inflammable feast: thick chunks of wood that will burn for up to two hours if they're hardwoods. Oak, hickory, ash and cherry are examples of hardwoods, and this is the best kind of firewood available. Although all woods give off the same amount of heat when burned, hardwoods are heavier and burn more slowly and cleanly. This means fewer logs to put into the fire, fewer logs to fetch from a woodpile, and less creosote build-up inside the chimney (which means a safer fire). Softer woods like maple and elm are fine to use--just be sure you don't pay hardwood prices for them, because they won't last as long in your fireplace. No matter what wood you choose, the key requirement with logs is seasoning--meaning, the number of seasons it's been dried. Wood consists of tiny tubes that carry water up and down the tree while it's alive. Yet when it dies, the water remains and can take years to evaporate--unless some humans come along and cut the wood into sections and then split it. If it hasn't been properly seasoned, the wood won't burn well: it'll emit a lot of smoke and will require a lot of attention to stay lit. Signs of seasoned wood include darkened areas at the edges and a slightly high-pitched "clink" when struck together. Green, unseasoned wood won't actually be green, so you can't tell by that--although the ends will bear evidence of recent sawing. Green wood will also sound a deeper, wetter "thud" when you strike two pieces together, so you can listen for that. If you buy a large volume of firewood, play it safe and buy it in the spring--it'll have six months to dry out and will be perfect for the winter season. Prepare the site A couple of inches (5-7 cm) of ash is a good base for the coals that will form from the kindling. But don't use more than that, or the fireplace area will start to get messy. Scoop out excess ash with a small metal shovel that commonly a part of fireplace utensils. Store the ash in metal cans or pails--embers can remain hot for a week--and adding live embers to a garbage can or compost pile is an obvious fire hazard. Open the damper If you forget, you'll remember once the smoke starts billowing into the room and the fire alarms go crazy. Step 2