When you think about it, owning a fireplace is an investment. A beautiful fireplace brings aesthetic value to your living area and increase the value of your home. However, owning a fireplace is a big responsibility. Keeping a well maintained and operational chimney increases its longevity and also keep your family safe from fire and carbon monoxide. With so much at stake, it’s very important for you to choose a chimney sweep that has experience with chimney repair and maintenance.
Fortunately, there is an organization that can help you find a chimney sweep that is knowledgeable, experienced, and honest. The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing home fires caused by chimneys and dryers. They offer maintenance and safety training for chimney sweeps. At TN Fireplace and Chimney, we require all our chimney sweeps to be CSIA certified. A CSIA certification means that we want to make our customer’s needs and safety a priority. We are proud to be Knoxville’s only CSIA certified chimney technicians.
What is the CSIA?
The CSIA emphasizes safety, education, and ethics in the chimney and ventilation industry. In addition to chimney maintenance and safety training, they also believe that every chimney sweep should take an oath to practice their business honestly and fairly. The certification process takes three steps. First, chimney sweeps must complete a training course related to chimney and ventilation maintenance and repair. Next, chimney sweeps must take coursework related to chimney and ventilation safety. Once these training courses are completed, all chimney sweeps must take a rigorous exam.
After testing, a chimney sweep still has another step before certification. The CSIA requires every chimney sweep to create their own personal code of ethics and conduct. This code of ethics must be developed with the consumer’s well being in mind. It also must state that they will perform their work to the best of their ability without taking shortcuts or misleading their clients. Once they’ve developed their ethics code, each sweep must swear to uphold it, performing their work with integrity and professionalism. Once all these steps are completed, a chimney sweep is eligible for certification.
How certification works?
However, the certification process isn’t done after the initial certification. Since technology is always changing, chimney sweeps must stay current in chimney maintenance and safety. That’s why the CSIA requires all chimney sweeps to be recertified every three years with more training and testing.
If you need your chimney repaired, inspected, or maintained, you can trust Knoxville’s only CSIA certified chimney technician! Call TN Fireplace & Chimney at (865) 922-2262 or schedule an appointment online today. We look forward to seeing you!
