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Got my certification and then found out some scary stats
Passed my chimney safety inspection cert last month. Felt great. Then I read the NFPA 211 report from 2023. Turns out over 25,000 house fires a year in the US start from chimney issues. That number blew my mind. I always knew it was dangerous but didn't realize it was that huge. Most of those fires were from creosote buildup over 1/4 inch thick. Makes me double check my work on every job now. Anyone else get surprised by the real numbers behind this trade?
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jason_robinson2d agoMost Upvoted
Found that same stats page when I was studying for my cert and it haunted me for weeks. My uncle used to clean chimneys back in the 80s and he told me about this one job where a family lost their whole roof because they skipped cleaning for like three years. Creosote was so thick you could chip it off with a hammer. I started taking photos of every bad buildup I find now just to show homeowners what theyre dealing with. Makes em think twice about pushing off the next cleaning.
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joseph_hart1d ago
That uncle's story about the three year buildup is exactly the kind of thing that sticks with you. A whole roof gone because nobody wanted to spend a hundred bucks on a cleaning. The photo idea is smart too, people need to see it with their own eyes before they believe how dangerous it can get. I've had a few close calls myself over the years and it never stops being unsettling how quickly things can go wrong.
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