There are six fireplaces in Mosman resident Denise Pickles' home, but she only uses two of them - for special occasions.
''It's very conducive to conversation and playing games and to just sit and watch the flames flicker,'' she said. ''You can't do that in front of an electric heater.''
Wood-burning fireplaces are coming under increased scrutiny as a significant source of air pollution, and the Council of Australian Governments is considering a crackdown on them.
It is looking at incentives to replace old wood heaters, education programs to raise awareness about emissions, and standards to regulate the sale of new wood heaters, in a new paper open for comment.
A lung specialist told a Senate inquiry into the effect of air quality on health last month that there was no safe threshold for the fine-particle pollution from wood-burning heaters.
Ms Pickles uses the two fireplaces sparingly when she is entertaining. ''I'm conscious of my lungs,'' she said. ''I'm very aware of pollution from afar and I wouldn't want to have it on every night.''
When the weather cooled this week, it was not open fireplaces but less conventional forms of heating that caused an increase in house fires, Fire and Rescue NSW said. There was a 40 per cent increase in house fires compared with the same time last year.
One fire was started when a barbecue was used inside as an oven. Authorities have also warned against using wheat bags as hot water bottles and radiator heaters as clothes driers.
''We have seen an increase in complacency and not using the items in the way that they are designed for,'' Superintendent Tom Cooper from Fire and Rescue NSW said.
From midnight on Sunday to Friday afternoon, there were at least 85 house fires reported in NSW. Last year there were 51.
''People haven't been getting the message in the past and they leave too much to chance,'' Superintendent Cooper said.
There has been a steady rise of deaths and injuries caused by house fires during winter, particularly when heaters are left on overnight or everyday heating appliances are left unattended, Superintendent Cooper said.
People haven't been getting the message in the past.
''In the past two years I have seen a number of fires that could have been prevented after people have been careless with their own fire safety.''
During May and September last year there were more than 2028 house fires. This year there has been 132 injuries and eight deaths caused by house fires.
Figures from Fire and Rescue NSW show that 55 per cent of Australians believe they are ''fire safe'', but only 10 per cent have followed basic fire safety tips.
For more information visit homefiresafetyaudit.com.au.