Chim Chim Cheree (DO Magazine)

Do! Magazine, September/October 2003, Pg 28 & 30
By Matt Bolch

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If he’d been able, the raccoon probably would have burst into tears as he ambled across the snowy roof, away from what had been his chimney home.

Gary Bertassi, who has mainly retired his chimney-sweeping brushes and poles these days, remembers meeting the critter face to face while examining the chimney for drafting problems. “The homeowner was a physician, but he was an idiot about fireplaces,” says Bertassi, who now owns Griller’s Hall of Flame, a fireplace and barbecue grill shop in Indian Orchard, Mass.

“I open the damper, and inches from my face was a raccoon,” Bertassi recalls. Sweeps are used to such occupational hazards, and the unofficial handbook calls for rooting out unwanted chimney campers with a trusty chimney sweep pole.

After Bertassi nudged the raccoon out of the chimney flue, the creature discovered a second flue and crawled down toward the furnace. The day was frigid, the snow on the roof was deep and somebody had to crawl up there and block a vent to prevent the creature from jumping back and forth between flues. Bertassi lost a coin toss to his brother and wound up on the roof that blustery day while hi brother yet again rousted the interloper from the flue.

“As the raccoon walked away, he kept looking back at me,” Bertassi says. “He looked awfully sad.”

A chimney fire would be devastating to any homeowner, and that’s why sweeps take their job so seriously, offering services to keep chimneys in proper working order. Chimney fires account for 7.1 percent of all residential structure fires, according to the United States Fire Administration.

The industry does not much resemble the rosy image made famous by Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, as the sweep flitted from chimney to chimney, merrily singing “Chim Chim Cheree”.

“It’s deadly serious what we do,” says Howard Rowell, owner of Royal Chimney Service in Milwaukee. “It’s a fact that house fires and deaths do occur.”

The top hats and tails are out, replaced by such tools as a 360-degree camera that’s lowered down a chimney on a pole to take a look at the condition of a chimney’s mortar joints or liner for any cracks. Sweeps are trained to inspect heating appliances and their installation, and many also can rebuild chimneys as necessary.

“There’s a lot more involved in cleaning chimneys today than people realize,” said Mark McSweeney, executive director of the Chimney Safety Institute of America. The association creates public awareness about the responsible operation of chimneys and venting systems as well as administering certification programs for sweeps. McSweeney also leads the National Chimney Sweep Guild, an association with over 900 member companies.

Think chimney, and you’ll probably imagine wood-burning appliances. But chimneys used to vent oil or gas furnaces also need a good cleaning from time to time, says Ron Mazzeo, owner of Mazzeo’s Chimney & Stoves in Rockland, Maine. The burning process from oil and gas appliances can leave condensation in the flue, Mazzeo says. And though an additive to natural gas creates a putrid smell, many animals fine it pleasant and choose to make their homes around natural gas appliances.

A chimney cleaning is an inexpensive way to get a lot of information,” says Mazzeo, a founding member of the chimney sweep guild. “I think it’s the best value a homeowner can get for service work.”

A visit from a chimney sweep generally entails a visual inspection of the chimney; removal of any built-up creosote, that black tarry or flaky substance formed in chimneys during the wood burning process examination of burning appliances for proper installation and clearances from combustible materials examination of the flue for any blockages or restrictions; examination of the smoke chamber and damper, which controls air movement between the smoke chamber and flue; cleaning and adjustment of the damper.

Homeowners can expect to pay as a little as $60 per flue up to $180, depending on the region of the country, says Steve Pietila, owner of American Chimney & Masonry in Portland, Ore. He suggests using the Chimney Institute’s Web site (www.csia.org) to research companies in your area.

Although there’s not much singing and dancing in the sweep business, Pietila, a sweep since 1986, wouldn’t have any other job.

The best view is always from the roof,” Pietila says.

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