Fireplaces have occupied an important place in North American households for more than 400 years. They have acted as a place where the food was cooked, where people gathered around to talk at the end of the day and hopefully, where they could get warm. Even today, builders find it difficult to sell a new house which does not have a fireplace. However, housing characteristics have changed remarkably, particularly over the last 25 years.

A great number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are found in the indoor air of office buildings, emitted mainly by the building materials, the consumer products used, the furnishing, office equipment, smoking, mechanical ventilation systems and outdoor air pollution. An attempt has been made to identify the strongest sources of VOCs in the indoor and outdoor air of six office buildings in Greece. Analysis of the results showed that the VOCs in the outdoor air were strongly related to the traffic in the area.