We burn wood but at 200 metres ASL we have to have a certified closed fireplace that is pretty efficient. We would have to be above 300 metres ASL (1000 feet amsl) to be allowed an open fireplace. Ours was open up until about 8 years ago but we then fitted a closed, fan driven, insert. It is not as nice as an open fireplace but it burns much less wood and helps to keep our gas heating bills down. The only downside is that I have to clean the glass every day. The wood we burn is very well seasoned
I think a lot of our neighbours still have open fireplaces, and yes, of a cold evening there is a lot of smoke smell outside.
