Evolution of Contained Fire

Posted on December 19, 2009 - Filed Under History, Home & Garden

For thousands of years fireplaces have been a major part of human life. They are used for so many things such as heating, cooking and socializing. Fires burned in ancient times were originally placed in the center of the room of a one story home. Having it in the middle of the room was great for getting the most use out of the fire. More people could sit around it and feel its warmth. It also radiated heat more evenly around the room. There was a hole in the ceiling to help create the circulation to get the smoke out of the home. This design was how humans got along for a thousand years. At some point there were homes and buildings built with two stories. That took the fireplace design on a new path. Now you had to put in on one side of the room and it was best to put it on the outside wall. It wasn’t a good idea to build a fire in the center of a room on a wood floor of a second story room. It took a while to get the smoke ventilate in the right direction. The chimney was designed after some failed attempts to get the smoke out horizontally. The chimney gave the natural flow of smoke a chance again to move out of the home.

After years of using the fireplace inventors came along and added their ideas to come up with other indoor heating options. Prince Rupert gave us the grate for the firewood to sit on. Helping the flow of air to fuel the flame. Benjamin Franklin created the cast iron stove called the Franklin Stove. Which gave a more efficient form of heating and cooking. Count Rumsford designed a better chimney so it wouldn’t catch on fire. Before his design the chimneys often caught on fire and were made to be kicked away when it happened.

Now homeowners can buy and indoor luxurious fireplace that runs on electricity, natural gas or wood with no worries of chimney fires. Look into the Napoleon fireplaces, they have many great designs. Which is the another added benefit of the modern fireplace.

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