History of Chimney Sweeping [Infographic]

Introduction

The chimney industry has a long history, dating all the way back to the Romans of the 13th century. The industry’s history hasn’t always been beautiful, though. 

Chimney sweeps were previously seen as heartless scoundrels, who used young children as young as four years old to climb and sweep the chimneys. In 1788, our industry began to see some legislation passed in Great Britain to provide some regulation for health and safety.

Fortunately, chimney sweeps are educated and skilled tradesmen, who are giving back to the communities they live in with the promotion of fire safety and non-profit organizations, like Combat Boots to Top Hats and Sweep Away Cancer.

Still, today, the industry isn’t very regulated on a state or federal level, but with the help of organizations like the CSIA, NCSG, NFPA, HPBA, NFI, and many others, our industry is innovating and making it safer to use chimneys.