“No kid grows up thinking, ‘Oh, I'm going to be a chimney sweep,’” says Damon Reed, owner of Ye Olde Chimney Sweepe and a retired firefighter of 28 years. But someone has to do this dusty, dangerous job, and Damon and his team happen to love it.
Chimney sweeping reduces the likelihood of chimney fires, which can reach 2,000 degrees and burn down homes. If a chimney isn’t cleaned regularly, soot and creosote can build up, block airflow through the chimney flue and become a fire hazard. Roughly 25,000 chimney fires occur nationwide each year.
“We’re in the life safety business,” Damon says.
Chimney sweeping businesses started booming in the seventies because of the global energy crisis. As oil and gas prices skyrocketed, homeowners turned back to coal and wood to heat their fireplaces, driving up the need for chimney sweeps.
In 1978, Dan Kennedy started Ye Olde Chimney Sweepe, running it through the late 1980s before his son took over, who eventually sold it to Mark Jenkins. In August of 1997, Damon and his wife Jennifer purchased it. Today, Ye Olde Chimney Sweepe is one of Arkansas' oldest chimney sweep companies.
“I've been doing this long enough now that we've got three generations,” Damon says. “We take care of grandma and son or daughter and now grandchildren, and so we've seen these grandchildren grow up, and that's really awesome to see how the families continue to enjoy their fireplaces through the different generations.”
After a customer books their sweep, the crew comes in and inspects the system. They place protective drop cloths around the fireplace and then remove all the debris with a vacuum. A special camera moves up the flue to find any hard-to-detect defects.
“I really enjoy interacting with the customer and going over the different repair options and asking, ‘What do you envision for this fireplace?’ and making that vision happen through whatever repair work that the client has chosen.”
When Damon first became the owner, he worked full-time as a firefighter for the Conway Fire Department while sweeping chimneys on his off-duty days. He currently employs two active firefighters and serves on the board of directors of a volunteer fire department.
Like a firefighter, being a chimney sweep takes a pretty high tolerance for grime and a whole lot of humility.
“Whenever I'm interviewing a new employee, I basically tell them that if they're the person that doesn't put their shopping cart up in the corral in the parking lot, then they're not going to fit in around here because that's just our culture.”
Ye Olde Chimney Sweepe also specializes in fireplace repairs and installation, plus dryer vent cleaning.
Damon’s favorite time of year is Christmas because he gets to see everyone’s decorations, like stockings on the mantels or garlands around the hearth, before he cleans their chimneys.
“Go back and look at your Christmas pictures, and where are the pictures taken of the family? It's on the hearth extension in front of the fireplace. When your son or daughter has the date for the prom, the pictures are taken in front of the fireplace. The fireplace is just an integral part of a heartwarming home.”
For more information, visit archimney.com.