Even then, you must make sure in some way that your fireplace can withstand long lasting fires. During the Icestorm of 1998 many houses caught fire because of inadequate use of the fireplaces or obsolete fireplaces. And there was also a risk of the roof collapsing under the weight of ice. It was really messy. So poor apartment dwellers were actually safer because they had no other alternative other then move to a public shelter.