How To Open And Close Fireplace Flue. Open the flue damper for a fire. Do keep a carbon monoxide detector in service as a safety precaution.
Do keep a carbon monoxide detector in service as a safety precaution. To close a throat damper in a fireplace, lift the handle and pull it back towards you. The damper should always be fully open before lighting a fire and when the fireplace is in use.
To remember whether your damper is open or closed (and to remember to close fireplace damper when the embers are completely cooled), you can use a brass damper hook with a closed and open side or a brass fireplace sign with a closed and open side.
However, the opposite is true. To close it, you simply lift the handle up again, pull the damper shut, and set the handle back into position on the ratchet. The damper should always be fully open before lighting a fire and when the fireplace is in use. Start a small but smoky fire in your fireplace, say using papers or tinder alone.