4 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Burn Charcoal in Your Fireplace

January 11, 2024 | Chimney Basics

Your home’s fireplace is the perfect place to cozy up at night, especially when there’s cooler weather in the forecast. However, there are some things you need to understand when it comes to choosing the right material to burn. Unfortunately, not everything is meant to be burnt in your fireplace, including charcoal. However, some people do, and it’s obvious during sweeps. So Chimney Champions feels it necessary to revisit four reasons why you shouldn’t burn charcoal in your fireplace.

Read More

3 Fireplace Mistakes You’re Probably Making

September 9, 2022 | Chimney Basics

Many people enjoy the cozy ambiance and warmth a fireplace provides during the winter or even on those cooler summer evenings. However, if you’re not using or caring for your fireplace correctly, you may be costing yourself money and causing damage to your home. So, Chimney Champions is here to help you avoid these three common fireplace mistakes so you can keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

Read More

3 Fireplace Safety Tips for Kids

November 15, 2021 | Chimney Basics

Having a fireplace in your home requires responsibility and safety precautions, especially if kids are in the house. While your fireplace isn’t dangerous when used correctly, it does have the potential to be deadly. Yearly inspections from Chimney Champions can help prevent most fireplace accidents and issues, but there’s still more you can do. To help keep you, your family, and your home safe, pass along these three fireplace safety tips to your kids.

Read More

3 Signs of a Chimney Fire

November 10, 2020 | Chimney Inspections

On average, there are roughly 25,000 chimney fires every year, causing more than $125 million in damage. Still, many homeowners don’t realize that they need to have chimney inspections performed regularly. It’s very likely that you’ve had a chimney fire and haven’t even noticed. That’s where the team at Chimney Champions comes in. We can inspect the entire structure of your chimney and tell you whether or not you’ve experienced a fire in your chimney.

Read More

Ropes Training – Raising the Standard of Safety

July 7, 2019 | A Day in the Life

Long time, no updates! We have made it a top priority this year to attend as many hands on training classes as possible to stay at the top of the industry. One of the most important classes we have attended so far this Summer is ropes training and safety. Jim Brewer is a legend in the chimney sweep industry and our team recently made the visit to train with him at the Fire Service & Codes Enforcement Academy in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. The two day class went over basic safety precautions, proper ways to protect a clients roof while using ropes, knots, and most importantly hands on training at the Academy. The reality of our industry is that most sweeps are inspecting a home or performing a repair alone. Using the old style OSHA safety harness, if you fall off a roof alone you have no way to self rescue … Continued

Read More

Remodeling Dangers – Potential Issues With Factory Built Fireplaces

February 23, 2019 | Chimney Basics

Avoiding Issues with Combustibles When remodeling a home with a fireplace, certain safety issues arise if proper care is not taken during the process. Factory built (prefabricated) fireplaces all come with very specific instructions as to where combustibles can and can’t be placed. This is where having or obtaining the manufacturers installation instructions is key. Fireplace Remodeling Step one Step one should always be finding the installation manual specific to your fireplace. The easiest way to find your installation guide is looking inside of the fireplace firebox for the data plate. Your data plate will provide you with the manufacturer and model of the fireplace and then you can typically find the manual online. If the data plate is no longer visible, painted over, or not found, contact your local chimney professional and they may be able to help. Fireplace Remodeling Step Two Now that you have your manual, make … Continued

Read More

The Return of the Chimney Swift

February 23, 2019 | Chimney Basics

Did you have a problem with birds in your chimney last year? Make sure to have a proper chimney cap installed before the Spring this year to avoid that problem again. You may have read in one of my previous blogs about the chimney swift, a migratory bird that is very prevalent in our area. As much as we would like to protect our Chimney Swifts, it is not healthy to have them in your chimney. Dangers of Birds in Your Chimney The number one danger that comes to mind is Histoplasmosis. Histoplasmosis is a type of lung infection. It is caused by inhaling Histoplasma capsulatum fungal spores. These spores are found in soil and in the droppings of bats and birds. This fungus mainly grows in the central, southeastern, and mid-Atlantic states. Bird Mites – A tiny mite that is only half-millimeter long in size is often carried by Chimney Swifts. Once … Continued

Read More

The daily battle for a chimney sweep, staying clean

January 20, 2019 | A Day in the Life

Daily and Long-Term Hazards Staying safe is a constant concern for a chimney sweep. Not only are we on roofs, in attics, and crawl spaces, we also have to worry about the hazardous long-term effects of creosote to our bodies and prevent inhalation and interaction as much as possible. Creosote is a natural byproduct of combustion but it comes with a nasty side effect for humans with long-term exposure to it, cancer. Skin cancer, lung cancer, and testicular cancer are the most common for a chimney Sweep to content with. Skin cancer from constant cleaning and repairing systems covered in creosote and let’s not forget clothing. Lung cancer from inhaling creosote while sweeping a system or even after the service with soot floating around in the work vehicle. Testicular cancer you would think would be the strange one but take into consideration the amount of creosote that can get trapped … Continued

Read More

Carbon Monoxide

January 13, 2019 | A Day in the Life

  Let’s talk about a very serious topic, Carbon Monoxide (CO). Carbon Monoxide is a odorless, tasteless, and colorless gas that can be deadly to humans and animals. Carbon Monoxide is a natural byproduct of combustion and one of the purposes of why things such as fireplaces, gas dryers, and furnaces have venting systems to get deadly gases out of the home. According to the CDC, each year more than 400 Americans die from unintentional Carbon Monoxide poisoning, 20,000 visit the emergency room, and over 4,000 are hospitalized. This a a staggering number that could be drastically reduced with the installation of Carbon Monoxide detectors in the home. Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide poisoning – Dizziness – Feeling weak – Headache – Upset stomach – Vomiting – Confusion – Chest pains Symptoms are often described as “flu-like” and sleeping or drunk individual are more likely to die from Carbon Monoxide poisoning … Continued

Read More

Metal surrounds

January 12, 2019 | A Day in the Life

Popular around the 1980’s, the metal surround can be seen throughout Jacksonville and Northeast Florida. Some of these systems are still operational and one potential hazard of the metal surround is its tendency to trap combustibles around the flue termination, something that can be a huge potential fire hazard. A typical metal surround: Now for a look inside the surround: This is what I typically see around the surround, keep in mind this is a high heat area where the flue gases terminate. Here is where it gets a little more complicated.. some surrounds have exposed outer flue liners so if you try to clean the surround out without dismantling the upper section, you can push debris into the liner where it drops down towards the interior fireplace and is now stuck between the liners! Another potential issue that comes up with this design is they do not come with … Continued

Read More