Burn, baby, burn--but efficiently.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

Across the country this winter, families and friends will gather around fires in woodstoves or fireplaces, but how you build that fire--and what you burn--can have a significant impact on air quality and health, both inside your home and out, maintains the Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.

Whether using a woodstove, pellet stove, or your fireplace, seeing smoke from your chimney means your fire is not burning as efficiently or cleanly as it could. Woodsmoke contains fine particles--also called fine particle pollution or PM2.5--which can harm the lungs, blood vessels, and heart, according to the EPA. People with heart, vascular or lung disease, as well as older adults and children, are more at risk.

Here are some EPA tips for building cleaner-burning fires:

* Burn only dry, seasoned wood. Wet or green logs create excessive smoke-and waste fuel. How do you tell if wood has been seasoned? Listen for a hollow sound when you strike two logs together.

* Wood burns best...