In a typical winter, George Souliotis burns about a cord of wood. This winter, with oil and propane coming off of record prices, he's bought three cords.

"It's because the price of oil is going up and even propane is still expensive," said Souliotis, an Andover resident and owner of the New London Mini-Mart.

To save money, he switched his furnace from oil to propane, but he plans to keep a wood furnace in his basement going most of the time and occasionally use his fireplace to offset his use of gas. Nationally, the price of residential propane dropped about 3 cents last week to $2.50 a gallon, still 16 cents higher than a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Today, as more consumers are turning to wood heat, wood dealers are struggling to meet demand, and the fire department in New London is on alert for the heightened danger of fires caused by homeowners.

New London Fire Chief Jason Lyon is concerned that people new to using wood heat may not know how to do it safely and efficiently. He also worries that when finances are spread thin, chimney - and even furnace - maintenance may be overlooked and become a fire hazard.

The town of New London, said Lyon, sees three to seven structure fires each year. Of those, one or two are chimney fires.

Maintaining a clean chimney, he said, is key to safely using wood heat. Most fire departments offer free inspections of woodstoves or furnaces for renters or homeowners changing over to wood heat. Inspections are often required by insurance agencies. Local chimney sweep services charge between $125 and $250 per cleaning, depending on the number of flues or floors in the house. Cleaning recommendations vary with use, from every month to every three to four years.

Beth Labonte of Bradford burns seven to eight cords each year as her primary heating source. When she first moved into her rental house, she had a member of the fire department inspect her woodstove and chimney, she said. While she occasionally uses oil as back up, she and her boyfriend prefer the feel of wood. "I love it," she said. "After a cold day it's nice to hang your boots next to the fire."

With so much use, Labonte makes it a point to get out a wire brush and clean her chimney flue every month.

When wood is burned, especially at a lower temperature, creosote, a corrosive and foul-smelling chemical, builds up in the stove and chimney flue. A thick concentration of creosote can lead to a chimney fire. Ashes also need to be regularly removed from woodstoves and furnaces to allow air to circulate and fuel the fire.

Logger Brett Foley of Andover has been selling firewood for 15 years. Demand is so high for wood this year that he sold out his winter stockpile in May, and his friends who sell wood are scrambling to keep up with demand; some sold more than 500 cords this year. "I turn down calls every day," he said.

But Foley worries that some people desperate for a cheaper heating source are turning to wood without knowing how to burn it safely, often using green wood, which produces more creosote than seasoned wood.

"A lot of people are heating with wood who've never done it before, and they're grabbing anything they can get," he said.

"It used to be the power company comes and trims along the power lines and (the wood) would lay there and rot," he added. "Now I see people on the side of the road picking it up."

The demand for wood is reflected in its cost. A green cord, which usually needs to age for about a year, starts at about $200. A dry, seasoned cord runs about $300 to $400, "if you can find it at all," said Foley. Fifteen years ago, he was "lucky to get $60 a cord," he said.

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