You Better Watch Out, Santa!

And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head and was turning around

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

--From Clement Moore’s

“A Visit From St. Nicholas”

Even though it’s been more than a century since Clement Moore wrote his holiday classic, St. Nick hasn’t changed much--he still shows up as “chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf” when Christmas rolls around. Chimneys and fireplaces, by contrast, have undergone startling transformations over the years. Even when they look the same--brick fireplace, wooden mantel for hanging stockings and rooftop chimney--they’re probably not.

“A fireplace today is basically a gas heating appliance that happens to have a lovely flame,” said JoAnna Lloyd, marketing manager for Hearth Products Inc. in Fullerton, manufacturer of Lennox and Superior fireplaces. “There are all sorts of aesthetic considerations and many, many more options than ever before.”

Not only do fireplaces come in different sizes, colors and textures, often programmed with computer chips, they are no longer anchored to the major wall of the living room but might pop up anywhere--even as room dividers--and in some cases are as movable as a living room chair. The “chimney” may be a slim 8-inch vent. And thanks to strides in catalytic and noncatalytic technologies, they can pass the toughest pollution tests.

As technology makes the fireplace increasingly flexible, efficient and clean, industry insiders can envision a house of the future with a fireplace of some sort in every room.

“Everything that has to do with a fireplace is fun,” said Neal Singleton, owner of Okell’s in Hermosa Beach. “They’ve become a furniture-type item, not a utilitarian hole where you throw in 2-by-4s.”

And the accessories have blossomed right along with them, said Singleton, who has been in the business for 26 years.

“I just sold someone a gas log set, a ceramic pine cone that crackles, incense that smells like mesquite and a remote control that turns it on and off,” Singleton said. “The digital crackling device is brand new.”

Digital crackling is just the start as industry innovators meld technology with tradition.

“An extraordinary number of things have been happening in the industry,” said Carter Keithley, president of Hearth Products Assn. of Arlington, Va., the trade association whose 2,000 members represent everything to do with fireplaces and their accessories.

The overall transformation is symbolized by the association’s name--it’s the former Wood Heating Alliance. Fireplaces that burn cordwood are still saluted in industry literature for “offering the appeal of Old World self-sufficiency,” but the allure of chopping logs and hauling ashes is limited.

“The aging baby boomers don’t want to split wood,” Keithley said. And they don’t have to, thanks to realistic gas logs with dancing flames that now account for 75% of sales, he added.

Aging boomers may not want to haul ashes, but they definitely want a fireplace that looks like the real thing--it’s at the top of any home buyer’s list, “right after indoor plumbing and an attached garage,” Keithley said.

Considering that the fireplace has long left behind its early functions of lighting, heating and cooking, the consumer demand clearly stems from something less pragmatic.

Like most industry insiders, Lloyd describes it as an unarticulated emotional need.

“There is a romanticism about the hearth, a comforting family connection that people yearn for,” Lloyd said. “You can get as many British thermal units out of a gas space heater for less money, but you aren’t going to gather around a space heater for long, meaningful conversations over a glass of wine.”

A major innovation, she said, has been the perfection of gas logs. Gone are the old chunky cement logs painted brown with a row of Bunsen burner-like blue flames. “Now we use lightweight fiber-ceramic materials that can be accurately molded so they come out looking like wood and then are painted so they look like aged, weathered, split oak.”

And flickering flames have been achieved by new burner technologies. The two most common, Lloyd said, are a stainless steel tube with ports that deliver gas into the firebox, hidden by logs, and a burner pan covered in noncombustible material that leaks gas into the fireplace in random patterns.

The result is safer and cleaner and, with neither smoke nor ashes, a fireplace can be tucked anywhere. Bedrooms are a favorite spot, said Lloyd, and some remote controls can even be programmed to click off after you fall asleep.

Like other major appliances, the new hassle-free fireplaces offer numerous design options. Jason Perry is vice president of marketing for Majestic Products in Huntington, Ind., which has been in business for 104 years.

“We invented the so-called factory-built fireplace in 1954, which was the first alternative to the brick-by-brick masonry fireplace.”

Today the new flexibility allows for a gas fireplace to be tucked in almost anywhere. Perry likes to cite the man in Minnesota who put a Majestic gas direct-vent in a garage for his dog.

And appearance, he said, is just as important as performance in Majestic’s line of gas fireplace inserts (the box fitting into the fireplace hole). Styles include polished or antique brass, cast aluminum with a polished brass border in black, blue, green or charcoal gray; cast-iron in black or green porcelain enamel; and black beveled trim with polished brass edge.

Heat-N-Glo, based in Minneapolis, promotes its fireplaces as major pieces of furniture.

“Warm a country-style room with a natural wood mantel and antique fireplace accessories,” its brochure suggests. “In a traditional setting, try carved wood paneling, or tile or marble facing. Stone set in mirrors or simple brick works well for contemporary settings, or you can add a painted finish.”

The company’s three-sided fireplace, which looks like a glass box, can serve as a room divider with the fire visible on all sides.

“A lot of people are doing see-through fireplaces,” said Heat-N-Glo spokesman Ross Morrison. “It vents off the side, which allows you to put a bar on top, if it’s for the family room.”

The company’s latest product is an electric fireplace that combines a mirrored system and lighting to give the impression of flickering flames. Portability is the selling point, Morrison said. “You just plug it in, which means it can be used in apartments, condos and offices.”

What other changes are in sight?

“Some stunning new fireplace designs are coming out of Europe that are true departures from the hole in the wall,” said Hearth Products Assn.’s Keithley. “I’ve seen sweeping metallic fireplaces that look like wall hangings, and another design that was flattened with an oval fire view that looked like a flying saucer with a fire in it.”

Clearly Santa Claus is going to have a tougher time every Dec. 24, trying to negotiate chimneys. Too bad, Keithley said. “Santa only shows up once a year. We have to think about all the rest.”