The long nights are getting nippy, and homes across New Hampshire have turned up the heat. For many of us, that's meant firing up the woodstove.

Heating with wood makes sense economically for many households in New Hampshire, the nation's second most heavily-forested state (after Maine). But there's a major tradeoff involved when you rely on a woodstove for all or some of your home's winter heat: the woodstove requires much more work and attention than an automatic central heating system does.

To protect you, your family, your neighbors, and your property as you enjoy the warmth of New Hampshire's renewable energy source, brush up on the rules for wood-heat safety.