I love real fires. Having a fire in the living room of your home is wonderful.

It completely enlivens the atmosphere of the space into something beautiful, romantic, calming and serene. A fire is not only warm and comforting but it also provides a powerful focus to any room with its glowing, flickering light.

The fire I have installed in my new home is very modern and contemporary. It’s the Conmoto Balance Modular Stove System designed by Peter Maly (from Encompass Furniture www.encompassco.com). It’s a real fire for burning wood, or in my case in London, for burning smokeless fuel.

It is stunning and has transformed a simple room into a beautiful room and the amount of heat it gives is amazing. We haven’t turned on the heating in the ground floor since we moved in. There is also something about the smell and crackling sound of a real fire that makes it more ‘homely’ than a gas fire. Every home should have one!

But on a more cautious note it is around this time of year that we have more devastating house fires than any other time of year. Why? Well, we use our boiler systems more regularly and at a more intensive level during the winter so please make sure you have them maintained properly and serviced regularly by an approved heating engineer to ensure they are safe.

We also use more candles than any other time of year. They may seem harmless enough but a friend in Edinburgh lost most of his home in a matter of hours after he forgot to put out the beautiful festive candles on his dining room table. Fortunately no one was hurt.

Then there are the dangers of real, open fires. If you are lucky enough to have a real fire please get your chimney swept regularly and make sure the fire is properly extinguished with a fireguard in place before you leave it alone.

You’re probably thinking I’m one of those patronising property experts preaching basic stuff that to most of us is common sense.
Well tell that to my good friend Alex. A well-educated, sensible lad with a stunning thatched cottage nestled in the woods in Hampshire.
One year he forgot to get his chimney swept and came home just before Christmas to find his dream home completely up in flames.

The house and surrounding woodland was gone. If that weren’t enough to cope with when it came to making a claim to his insurance company he was told his policy was void, as he had failed to maintain the building properly in accordance with clauses in his policy documents.
You know, that small print jargon at the bottom of the page that none of us ever reads.
He didn’t get a single penny.
He lost his home, all of his personal belongings and he is financially ruined. I hope his tragic story acts as a reminder.