How to Safely Put Out Your Wood Burner

How to Safely Put Out Your Wood Burner

How to Safely Put Out Your Wood Burner

There’s nothing better than sitting back and enjoying the warmth of a roaring fire in your log burner, especially if you are burning high heat, low particulate logs from Log Club!

But do you know the safest way to put out your wood burner at the end of the night? Failing to extinguish your fire correctly can be dangerous — and in some cases, even lead to a house fire. Here’s a step-by-step guide to ending your evening fires safely.

Step-by-Step: How to Put Out Your Fire

Reduce the air supply

Adjust your stove’s air controls to low. This reduces the oxygen feeding the flames, allowing the fire to settle.

Wait for flames to die down

When only embers remain, put on heat-resistant gloves and carefully open the stove door.

Spread the ashes

Use a fire poker to flatten the embers and spread remaining fuel evenly. Close the stove door again.

Be patient

Every stove is different. If embers remain after waiting, repeat the process. The key is patience — starving your fire of oxygen is the safest method.

Optional: light spray

A gentle spray of water can help cool the ashes, but avoid excessive spraying.

 

When the embers have completely died out, your stove can be safely left with the door closed.

 

What not to do

 

🚫 Don’t pour water directly into your stove – it creates steam that can scald and flood your room with smoke.

🚫 Don’t throw items onto the fire to “smother” it – they could ignite and make things worse.

🚫 Don’t leave your fire burning overnight unless your stove is specifically designed for safe slumber burning.

 

Top Safety Tips

  • Reuse ash: Cold stove ash can be added to compost or sprinkled in your garden to deter slugs and snails. It can also make a good bed for your new fire the next evening.
  • Check your CO alarm: Carbon monoxide is invisible and deadly — make sure your alarm is working.
  • Avoid overfiring: Letting your stove burn too hot can cause damage and costly repairs.
  • Keep a fire extinguisher handy: But not a CO₂ extinguisher — they don’t work on wood fires.

  • Keep the stove door closed: Both during burning and after extinguishing to prevent emissions entering your room.

 

Every stove is unique. As you use yours, you’ll get to know how quickly it heats, how it burns, and the safest way to put it out. With the right practices, you’ll keep your home warm, safe, and cosy.


At The Log Club, we supply Woodsure “Ready to Burn” certified kiln dried logs for a cleaner, safer, and more efficient fire.

Back to blog