Expert warns about firewood scams

CORTLAND, Ohio (WKBN) — Nobody would ever throw money on a fire and just burn it but some people may be doing it symbolically by getting burned by a new scam going around.

Joe Nay of Ohio Wood Burner provides wood to 20 restaurants around the valley. He even has a YouTube channel that has reached 30 million people. He heard about someone using pictures of his business in Colorado trying to spoof people.

"When you see ads for a truckload of firewood, that is where you got to know, what kind of a truck is it? Are you actually getting what you're paying for?" Nay said.

Wood burns, but not all wood burns alike. Nay has piles of stacked wood in Cortland. He says picking dry, seasoned firewood is the most important thing.

"It makes the fire more enjoyable. It's easier to light, it's easier to stay lit, but it's also safer because you're not gumming up your chimney with extra silt and unburned ps," Nay said.

You can identify dry wood by the sound — which should sound like a hit off a baseball bat. A lower bass sound means there's still water in the wood, which Nay says will come out the ends of the stick when you burn it.

"If you're not buying seasoned firewood, you buy it the year before. You stack it at your house and you let it sit," Nay said.

Nay cautions people about buying wood based on an online advertisement.

"And they are asking for money to be paid upfront. And if you pay them up front, they'll bring you the wood today, and they never show up," said Nay.

He also suggests being careful when it comes to the quantity of wood you buy.

Ohio rules say firewood sold in bulk, must be weighed on a scale. Non-packaged firewood must be sold by the cord or fractions of a cord, which is a measurement of cubic feet.