Thanks Pitman. A friend suggested I get it checked anyway since we never did when we first moved in.

Had a little better success tonight. I built it up starting with small stuff first. As that started to burn I put bigger and bigger pieces on the fire. Eventually, I put a log on and it did okay. It caught on fire and burned for a while, but it eventually died and never burned all the way through. It sits in the fireplace all charred up!

I am thinking the wood is not seasoned properly. Anyone second that?