Got a hot one? Here's a checklist for chimney fires: if you have a lot of smoke in room combined with any of these signs--a load roar, shaking pipes, hot spots on the wall or chimney--you may have a chimney fire on your hands. If so, get everyone out of your home, and call 911 from a neighbor's home.

Smoked out? If your damper is open but the smoke won't go up (and fills your house instead) then consider the location of your chimney. Is it located on an exterior wall of your home? If so, the chimney may be too cold to draw air. To warm up your chimney, put on a fireproof glove and light up a rolled-up piece of newspaper. The heat from the burning newspaper will force the cold air in the chimney outside, which will start the flow of the air through the chimney.

If you regularly use your chimney, even once a week, you should consider having your chimney swept once a year. If you're not inclined to stroll around on your roof, then have a professional do it. But have it done: dirty chimneys won't draw air well, and if neglected long enough, can cause a fire.

Save the trees: Use fabricated firewood logs (made of compressed wood chips, sawdust, and binding materials) if you're concerned about deforestationäbut depending on the brand, be prepared for an odd smell. Some emit a strong, waxy smell (like alpine ski wax), although it often smells stronger outside than inside.

2torial #0702: Learn2 Make a Fire in a Fireplace (Continued) Build a fire You'll start from the ground up, being careful to make a structure that will hold together during the early stages of the fire. If you make a fire that collapses after the first 30 seconds, the fire may smother itself and you'll have to start over.   The foundation: Here's where yesterday's newspaper comes in handy. The newspaper serves to ignite the kindling, which in turn will ignite the logs. Take four or five full-size (two page) sheets and crumple them up into a grapefruit-sized balls, or a little smaller than that if you're feeling energetic. Place them on the floor of the fireplace and under the grate, if there is one. Resist the temptation to add more than seven paper balls to the fire. You'll certainly have a dramatic start to your fire, with flames ablazing up the chimney, but over time excess newspaper use will create a lot of creosote. The kindling: Distribute and place for breathing. Add two handfuls of kindling. Distribute it evenly over the newspaper (or on top of the grate, if there is one), so that the logs will have fairly uniform surface to rest on. But place the sticks of kindling at an angle to each other to allow for air and flames to come through. Break up any kindling that extends far beyond the base of the fire, or doesn't fit easily into the wood stove. The logs: Add two smaller logs to start with, rather than one monster log. And ideally those logs should be split. The larger and thinner surface area of a split log allows it to ignite more easily. As with the kindling, don't lie the logs on top of each other. Place them at an angle to one another, to allow air and flames to come through. Leave out any lighter fluids or liquid fire starters! They're unnecessary and they increase the risk of fire.     Step 3