Will the tradition of the open-hearth fire be regulated out of our homes and into our memories?

"Remember when the holidays meant a hearth that blazed with a real fire, built with our hands and stoked to keep its warmth filling our home. Its gentle crackle was as comforting as the smell of fresh baked pies. At the end of the evening, we quietly gazed at the mesmerizing flicker as its last embers slowly went to sleep."

This story may soon join the many told about how life used to be - before computers, video games, cell phones, and before the day open-hearth fireplaces became illegal.

That day has already arrived in some areas of Northern California, and unless something is done to reverse the trend, open hearth fireplaces may soon be outlawed throughout the state.

Unfortunately, the debate on how to effectively regulate pollution from wood-burning devices has completely ignored the scientific data demonstrating that fireplaces actually burn more cleanly that the EPA-certified wood heaters that the new regulations permit outright.

In 2000, OMNI-Test Laboratories conducted emissions tests on different fireplace designs and compared the results to standards set by the federal EPA for woodstoves. (See Fireplace Emissions) When comparing emissions from equivalent fuel loads, the fireplaces emitted about half of what EPA allows woodstoves to emit.

Nevertheless, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has been pushing cities and counties to adopt regulations that ban wood-burning fireplaces, and so far about a dozen have been convinced to do so. One reason elected officials have been easily swayed is that there has been little or no opposition to the ordinances. The affected constituency, future home buyers, won't learn about the prohibition until it's too late.

Fortunately for wood fireplace supporters, there are other regulatory measures that more effectively address the air quality issues related to wood smoke. These include adopting appropriate emission limits and design standards for new fireplaces and implementing "no burn night" programs. The latter is particularly effective since periods of high particulate matter (the type of pollution associated with wood smoke) are infrequent and result from climatic conditions. "No burn nights" can eliminate virtually all wood smoke during these specific times.

Studies show that people still value the experience of a wood fire and many home buyers are willing to pay extra for a wood-burning fireplace. New regulations could prohibit home builders from offering this amenity to their customers. On behalf of the future home buyers, the home building community should become active in the effort to preserve the tradition of an open hearth fire.

California Hearth & Homes is a coalition of masonry fireplace designers, masonry component manufactures, architects, and brick kiln operators that has come together to provide a voice of reason in the fireplace regulation debate. To learn more about new regulations that may be proposed in your area, CHH can be contacted at 916/491-1998 or visit their website at www.californiahearthsandhomes.org.

Score in the Bay Area
by Jim Buckley
6/24/02

CHH has been fighting a "retail battle" in the Bay Area for a couple of years. Our objective has been to get the cities and the counties in the Bay Area to exempt masonry fireplaces.

The emissions caused by fireplaces are, by anyone's estimate, insignificant. Fireplaces are inherently cleaner-burning than stoves because they cannot be air starved like stoves. Rather, fireplaces burn hot and fast with all the oxygen they need for complete combustion. Besides, fireplaces aren't used that much - rarely for primary heating - fireplaces tend to be used only occasionally in the evening or on weekends when typically the air is pretty clean anyway because there are fewer cars on the road. So it's not a problem. The regulation of fireplaces has proved to be technically complicated, difficult and expensive. It's not worth it. If any regulation of fireplaces at all is justified, it should be in the form of a burn ban on those few days a year when climatic inversions keep particulate matter close to the ground.

Of course, that's our opinion.

We have created a matrix of "wins and losses" by city and county. Evaluating our success, we can count as "wins" only nine jurisdictions that have exempted masonry fireplaces - nine out of twenty-six. We count as "losses" those jurisdictions that adopted the BAAQMD Model Ordinance holding fireplaces to a non-existent EPA standard. That would seem to be obviously unfair but the fact is we don't have much political clout. Our constituency is future new home-owners who won't be allowed to have fireplaces. Of course future new home-owners are present day renters and home-owners who may build or move to a new house some day. Builders, architects, masons and relator can probably relate and agree with us and are our best allies. In an attempt to garner their support we have mailed out a "letter to our industry colleagues".

We brought suit against two of the "losses" - San Jose and Palo Alto - and won(?) a settlement that allows us to test to either the non-existent EPA fireplace standard or an inappropriate Northern Sonoma County fireplace standard. (See the details.)

We plan to test all of these "wins" "losses" and "settlements" by helping our customers apply for permits to build fireplaces and appealing any rejections. If you'd like our help with your fireplace permit application, you might be interested in seeing what others are doing (See Bay Area Fight). Then contact Jim Buckley at 800 447 7788 or by email at chh@rumford.com