Wood sellers waiting for cold weather

The first day of winter has come and gone, but few area residents are roasting chestnuts on an open fire -- or even building a fire.

An unseasonably warm start of winter has confused blooming plants, sent Christmas shoppers out in shirt sleeves and cut down on the sale of firewood.

"It just hasn't been that cold yet," said Bill Craig, a Cape Girardeau businessman who lives on a farm near Gordonville, Mo. The Craigs use a wood-burning stove to help heat their farm house.

Keith Colley of Sikeston, Mo., has yet to light a fire in his fireplace.

"We haven't even bought our wood yet," he said.

That's a lament of Bill Miller, a wood seller in the area.

"We've had a few orders, but it seems everyone else is waiting for the cold weather too," Miller said. "We're just not selling a lot of wood."

At one stretch in mid-December, the weather was 20 degrees warmer than it was a year ago.

Scouts delivering

But one group of wood sellers has plenty of orders.

Following a spurt in cooler temperatures over the past week, Boy Scout Troop 51 of Chaffee, Mo., has been busy with calls. Frank Siebert of Chaffee donated some wood located on his farm near Chaffee, and the troop has been cutting and preparing wood for delivery.

The troops, said Scoutmaster Ernie Crump of Scott City, Mo., will deliver the hickory and oak and stack it for the new owners.

Meanwhile, the interest in firewood and fireplaces has resulted in plenty of work for chimney sweeps.

"We're busy every day," said Charlie and Mary Robinson, who operate a chimney sweep business in Southeast Missouri, ranging from St. Louis to Cape Girardeau to the Bootheel.

"People usually wait until the first cold spell, then start calling," said Robinson, who recommends chimneys be cleaned at least once a year.

"You never know what may be in the chimney," said Robinson, who recalled a recent incident where a live duck was removed from the chimney. The duck was removed with only a few ruffled feathers.

Wood fuel devices -- fireplaces and stoves -- have increased significantly during the past decade, according to the National Safety Council.

According to NSC reports, about two-thirds of wood-burning fire mishaps are caused by operational problems, in particular failing to clean the flue system and/or improper installation.

NSC representatives offer some fire safety tips for the winter season: Make sure furnace and ductwork are properly installed and maintained, and conduct annual checks of fireplace wood-burning stoves and chimneys. If you are using a fireplace, a good-quality metal screen should be kept closed in front of the fireplace whenever it's in use.

rowen@semissourian.com

335-661, extension 133