The White House
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Preparing the White House Fireplaces for the Anticipated Long Winter Jake Rowell, Royal Chimney Services
t was a refreshingly different experience servicing the White House chimneys this year. For the first time since COVID-19 began, the face masks and mandates for testing every three days were lifted. It was great to see the friendly faces again of staff and others at the White House, along with business, monuments, and the other attractions open. The White House understands the importance of having its 35 fireplaces cleaned and inspected annually to remove flammable creosote and note any deficiencies that need to be addressed. We used Chim Scan Internal Video Scanning multiview cameras to document our findings for the inspection report that follows.
We are very proud of this year’s White House Chimney Service Team; they did a great job and represented us well. Communication and documentation are paramount with this many fireplaces, and this year’s team was very detailed in pointing out any areas of concern that needed to be addressed.
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NCSG SWEEPING MAGAZINE
This year’s team was comprised of eight Chimney Sweep Institute of America (CSIA) and National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG) certified sweeps from across the country. The leader of the team is Howard Rowell, NCSG member of 40 years, who will have been servicing the White House chimneys for 30 years next year. Before 1994, other NCSG icons of the chimney sweeping trade serviced the White House chimneys, blazing the trail for NCSG members as the sweeps that service these chimneys. “As team leader, I am honored the baton was passed onto me, and I take it very seriously, holding the highest standards and integrity and representing the chimney sweep trade,” Howard said. When asked why one of the team requirements is to be a NCSG member, he answered, “It’s one of the metrics used to determine someone’s dedication to the chimney sweep profession and a chance to meet them face to face at convention to speak with them and gauge their interest in being a part of this volunteer team. Each year, I put together a team of
