BURLINGTON, Vt. — The Hearth Safety Commission has issued a pre-season mandate requiring all holiday households with fireplaces to complete a certified chimney sweep before lighting the first Thanksgiving fire, citing what it calls “a creosote situation of concerning proportions.”
The Commission, which oversees residential fire safety in 14 states, acted after its annual inspection found that 1 in 4 chimneys contained what chief inspector Walter Grimm, 63, described as “enough buildup to qualify as a geological formation.”
“People light the Thanksgiving fire for ambiance,” Grimm said, peering up a demonstration chimney with a flashlight. “They want crackling, warmth, the smell of woodsmoke. What they don’t want is a chimney fire, which sounds like a freight train full of angry bees and smells like a regret.”
The mandate requires a Level 1 inspection (visual, “the chimney looks fine” level), a Level 2 inspection for homes that haven’t been swept in over a year (“the chimney has secrets” level), and immediate sweeping for any flue showing what the Commission’s rubric calls “stage-three glaze” — a shiny, tar-like coating Grimm described as “creosote that has achieved self-awareness.”
Homeowners must display the Commission’s orange “Swept and Safe” sticker on the mantel, a requirement Grimm acknowledged was “part safety, part peer pressure.” The stickers are numbered and trackable; last year, a black market in counterfeit stickers was uncovered in New Hampshire, an incident the Commission still refers to as “Sweepgate.”
The mandate also covers fireplace accessories. Andirons must be stable (“no wobbling — a wobbling andiron is a philosophical statement, not a tool”), screens must be intact (“embers are optimists; they will try to escape”), and the Commission formally recommends — but does not require — “one person in the household who actually knows how to build a fire, as opposed to three people with opinions.”
“Every Thanksgiving, someone’s uncle insists on using lighter fluid,” Grimm said, closing his eyes. “Every year, we beg. The mandate now includes a specific prohibition: no accelerants, no exceptions, no ‘but it worked last time.’ Last time was luck. Luck is not a fire safety strategy.”
Sweeps must be completed by November 20. The Commission’s hotline, staffed by retired firefighters, opens November 1 for what Grimm called “the annual parade of questions, including whether you can burn wrapping paper (no), pine cones from the yard (only if dry, and honestly, just buy the fire starters), and the wishbone (absolutely not, that’s for the other council).”
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