I would go so far as to say hardly any fire alarms are CO also, so important.
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thankfully, I donāt live in Londonā¦
equally thankfully, my area of France has good air-quality despite wood fires being a popular form of heating in the homeā¦
Itās worth bearing in mind that the UK surveys donāt seem to differentiate between different types of wood or degree of seasoning. Damp pine will be far more polluting than well-seasoned hardwood.
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This has been chewed over beforeā¦ and always comes back to the quality/type of wood and the burnerā¦
I donāt mind The Guardian having a goā¦ but (as you suggest) UK and France are not at all the same situationā¦
It may also be a sign of how clean modern cars are. I have childhood memories of the time before our area was a smokeless zone in South Norwood, with the fogs and fumes. And that was better than my motherās childhood when pea-soupers were normal. None of which makes pollution ok, but context can be helpful.
My childhood memories are in a completely different part of Englandā¦ and some years earlier than yoursā¦
Only 1 family in our road had a carā¦ my Dad and another neighbour had motorbikesā¦ for the rest it was bicycles, walking or the infrequent local bus service.
We had open fireplaces in 2 rooms and a coke boiler in the kitchenā¦ pretty standard in our neighbourhood.
We would hear āmoaning-Minnieā ā¦ droning ā¦ (the fog horns of the trawlers/whatever boats going up/down the coast).
we had fogā¦ but not so much of the fumes in those daysā¦ happy memoriesā¦
(EDIT: incidentally, small world 
ā¦ I was born in Upper Norwood)
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My grandfather had a car (minibus) but my parents did not until I was 15. Neighbours gradually acquired cars over the years before that, though many were poor (often but not always) black families (the house next door was bought by 2 French guys, both running minis). Heating was originally by open fires and a solid-fuel stove in the kitchen until my father replaced them with innovative gas fires and an immersion heater in the hot water tank. A local factory had retained use of an air raid siren, and used it to signal the start and stopping of work - I had to ask my mother what it was.
But then missed out on all that joyful smokiness.
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I made an unexpected appearanceā¦ Mum was only meant to be visiting there for the dayā¦
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I agree, but that doesnāt mean everyone can be made to burn āperfectā wood.
The mere fact that any old rubbish can be burnt will mean that some people will do so.
I have a nearish neighbour who not only burns plastic on the family rubbish tip but also has wood fired central heating boiler that has too short a flue & thus allows badly combusted woodsmoke to stay low & drift along the road that we used to use for a daily dog walk; the dog used to sneeze well before we would even be aware of it.
@Stella In most peopleās term we would be classed as being in the middle of nowhere i.e. woodsmoke pollution is not confined to urban areas.
so many things can/will pollute if not properly maintained and/or used correctlyā¦ whether in town or countrysideā¦ keeping pollution to an absolute minimum needs care and attention to detailā¦
In our village, one can briefly note when a fire is litā¦ after thatā¦ nuffinkā¦ not a hint of smoke in view or tickling the noseā¦ yet almost every household will have the logs providing a comforting warmth.
To the best of my knowledge, burning plastic and rubbish by individuals has been outlawedā¦ due to the toxic stuff in the smoke etcā¦ and the official incineration sites are carefully controlledā¦
Sad to hear you have this sort of thing so close to where you liveā¦
Absolutely, but thereās a certain kind of Norman farmer who hasnāt bothered to listen 
Fortunately weāre not in direct line of drift for the local problem, apart from the walk I mention, but the nastiness is still ending up somewhere.
The more hidden kind of pollution from wood burners is from those who burn offcuts of old MDF, chipboard, etc. which may contain all kinds of nasty things that arenāt good when combusted.
Realising this post was some time agoā¦ a timely reminder from Isabelle Want BH Assurances in their February '23 newsletter:
Indeed, @Badger , you can find people everywhere who flout regulations.
However, heating using wood burners is much more widespread in France than the UK and the market is this more mature. In my part of the world (Southern 86) it is rare to see or smell woodsmoke after the first few minutes of ignition, and it local pollution monitoring station (in what passes for a town in these parts!) shows very low levels of particulates.
Good griefā¦ why has no-one else noticed what rubbish is being sent up in flames near youā¦
official advice it to first speak with the person involvedā¦ if getting nowhere via personal approachā¦
Official advice is to contact those in chargeā¦
āje vous invite Ć contacter le maire ou la Brigade de Gendarmerie ou le Commissariat de Police territorialement compĆ©tent
(Contacter une brigade de gendarmerie ou un commissariat de police / Contact - MinistĆØre de l'IntĆ©rieur)) afin de faire cesser ses actions.ā
The last 3 deliveries of wood we have had, they have asked if it is an open fire as they would not deliver if it was and asked to see to make sure it was an enclosed fire when they arrived.
France.
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I believe open fires are not allowed in newbuildsā¦
and existing open fireplaces are no longer allowed to be used in certain communesā¦ but not so in ALL communesā¦
This article was updated December 2022ā¦
(In communes where open fires are still allowed, I believe there is/will be encouragement to fit an insert or similarā¦)
Here is something interesting.
For the sake of yourselves and others, donāt burn old pallets and construction waste thinking youāre saving a penny.
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