Chimney Sweep Video Statistics

Key takeaways

1. Chimney sweep and chimney service companies posted 43.6% of the on-topic videos among YouTube’s most-viewed chimney sweep, chimney cleaning and chimney inspection results but drew 8.9% of their views; re-post clip channels drew 73.2% (our read, Nov 7, 2026). (Mark Studios) See details
2. Kitchen “chimneys” sold in India, which are range hoods, made 38.2% of the videos those searches returned and drew 48.3% of all their views. (Mark Studios) See details
3. The 48 U.S. chimney company channels in that sample uploaded 551 videos in the year to November 7, 2026, with a median of 138 views; 25 of them posted nothing. (Mark Studios) See details
4. U.S. employer businesses took in $681.4 million ($681,396,000) from chimney cleaning in 2022, 4.9% of the receipts of the industry that holds sweeps, up 116.0% from 2017 before inflation (Economic Census). (U.S. Census Bureau) See details
5. CPSC estimates that fireplaces, chimneys and chimney connectors were involved in 14,200 U.S. home fires a year in 2021-2023, with $125.8 million a year in property loss; by our calculation 88.7% of those fires stayed confined. (CPSC) See details
6. NFPA’s newest published “failure to clean” share, for 2014-2018, is 25% of home heating fires, principally from solid-fueled equipment, primarily chimneys; it was 28% in 2011-2015. (NFPA) See details
7. Wood was the main heating fuel in 2.25 million U.S. homes in 2020 (1.8%, EIA); Census counts of homes heating mainly with wood fell 26.7% from 2010 to 2025, and only 374 homes in Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties did in 2020-2024. (EIA and U.S. Census Bureau) See details
8. The “25,000 chimney fires a year, $125 million in damage” line rounds CPSC’s 2003-2005 average of 25,100 home fires involving a fireplace, chimney or connector and $126.1 million in loss; CPSC’s newest estimate is 14,200 a year (2021-2023). (CPSC) See details

What chimney videos does YouTube rank highest?

Short re-posted clips of odd cleaning methods, not chimney sweeps' own videos: in our November 7, 2026 read of YouTube's 200 most-viewed results for 'chimney sweep', 'chimney cleaning' and 'chimney inspection', the most-viewed on-topic video was a 41,988,463-view clip on Villagegear, a channel that re-posts other people's footage (our calculation). We read YouTube's own view-sorted search results for the three phrases, four pages of each, through the YouTube Data API with no country filter, and classified every channel by hand from its own title, description and video text. It is one search on one day, not a census. The three lists held 476 unique videos from 377 channels, with 331,357,536 lifetime views in all.

Much of what YouTube returns for 'chimney' is not about chimneys. In India a 'chimney' is a kitchen range hood, and videos about cleaning their filters, spray cleaners and auto-clean models made 38.2% of the videos and drew 48.3% of the views. In the 'chimney cleaning' list, 75.5% of the videos were off-topic, almost all of them range hoods; in the 'chimney inspection' list, only 13 were. Mary Poppins clips of 'Chim Chim Cher-ee' and 'Step in Time' added 13,060,148 views. All off-topic channels together (range hoods, Mary Poppins, comedy sketches, songs, games and gas boilers' 'chimney sweep mode') drew 56.0% of the views.

Leaving them out leaves 266 on-topic videos with 145,919,927 views. The second most-viewed was a clip of a chimney in Russia cleaned with a leaf blower, re-posted by the Delisha En channel, with 25,677,288 views. Clip channels like these drew 73.2% of the on-topic views, and the top channel alone drew 28.8%; the five most-viewed channels were all re-post channels. The ten most-viewed channels drew 77.3% of the on-topic views. Clips of unusual methods (leaf blowers, steam, a bag thrown into a stove, explosions, homemade rigs) drew 63.5% of them.

How much of it comes from chimney sweeps?

Chimney sweeps post a large share of the videos but get a small share of the views: chimney sweep and chimney service companies made 43.6% of the on-topic videos in the November 7, 2026 sample and drew 8.9% of their views (our calculation). The class includes sweeps, chimney and fireplace companies, masons and roofers whose sample video is chimney work, and duct cleaners that also sell chimney or dryer-vent work; we did not check any licence or certification. The median chimney company video had 32,590 views. The most-viewed chimney company was A Step in Time Chimney Sweeps of Virginia, eighth among all on-topic channels, with 2,328,431 views across its sample videos, led by a 2026 commercial and an ad recruiting new sweep business owners. The most-viewed single company video came from Orlando's DeepBreath Duct Cleaning: an air duct cleaning clip with 1,236,670 views.

Which phrase is searched changes who appears. In the 'chimney inspection' list, chimney companies posted 56.9% of the on-topic videos; in the 'chimney sweep' list they posted only 19, and educators, history channels and homesteaders filled the rest.

Educators, explainers and DIY creators made 17.7% of the on-topic videos. History videos about chimney sweeps, mostly Victorian climbing boys, drew 9,907,182 views; they are counted apart from the trade's own videos. Among them were 11 lessons or readings of William Blake's poem 'The Chimney Sweeper', mostly for students in India. TV, news, radio and podcast channels, among them This Old House, CNBC and local TV stations, drew 5.5% of the on-topic views.

Channels placed in the U.S. by their own text or country setting made 61.3% of the on-topic videos, while channels based abroad drew 58.7% of the views. 48 U.S. chimney sweep and chimney service company channels appeared. Only 2 channels named a Florida base in their own text, an Orlando duct and chimney cleaner and a retired mason in southern Florida, and none named Palm Beach, Broward or Martin county.

What are the most-viewed chimney videos about?

Inspections, by title, more than any single job: 24.8% of the on-topic videos in the November 7, 2026 sample named an inspection in the title, largely because one of the three searches was 'chimney inspection' (our calculation from regex matches on titles, every list read by hand). Only 13 titles named a camera, a video scan, a drone or a Level 2 inspection, and they drew 0.3% of the on-topic views.

27 titles were about chimney repair, rebuilds, brick or mortar, most of them from chimney companies and masons, and 13 were about caps, crowns, flashing or leaks. 14 named creosote or soot, and 8 tested or reviewed creosote sweeping logs. Only 5 were about chimney fires and only 3 named dryer vents. 18 were about wood stoves, stove pipes or wood-burning inserts.

Do-it-yourself cleaning was a large genre: 39 titles were DIY how-tos or reviews of sweep kits such as VEVOR and Soot Eater, most of them from DIY creators and homesteaders, not sweeps. Company adverts and booking calls had a median of 26,535.5 views. 5 titles warned about scams, rip-offs or needless repairs, and 10 were about chimneys in home inspections or home buying, a topic led by home inspectors rather than sweeps.

Videos of 60 seconds or less drew 82.0% of the on-topic views. The median on-topic video ran 98 seconds. 31.2% of the on-topic videos were uploaded before 2020 and 39.1% in 2024 or later. None of the 476 videos carried YouTube's altered or synthetic content flag, and 5 were set as made for kids.

How often do U.S. chimney companies post to YouTube?

Rarely, and to small audiences: the 48 U.S. chimney sweep and chimney service company channels found in the search sample uploaded 551 videos in the year to November 7, 2026, and the median upload had 138 views (our calculation from each channel's uploads playlist, read through the YouTube Data API). 23 of the channels posted in that year and 25 posted nothing; some had not posted since before 2024. 43.4% of the year's uploads had fewer than 100 views, and 55.4% ran 60 seconds or less.

A few channels did most of the posting. A Step in Time Chimney Sweeps, Reitzel Roofing and Exteriors and Premier Chimney and Roofing posted 58.8% of the year's uploads. A Step in Time posted 135 videos, many of them profiles of other sweep companies in its ChimneySweeps.com network and pitches to join it, and 7 of them said in the description that they were made with AI, including an AI avatar of the owner. Reitzel Roofing and Exteriors of Virginia Beach had a median of 1,067 views per upload; Premier Chimney and Roofing, also of Virginia Beach, made 96.8% of its uploads 60 seconds or less. Resurrection Brick, a Michigan masonry firm, had the highest median of any channel with five or more uploads: 2,722 views.

The median channel had 116 subscribers, and 21 had fewer than 100. A Step in Time had the most, 33,300. The only Florida chimney service channel in the sample, DeepBreath Duct Cleaning of Orlando, posted nothing in the year; its last upload was on February 20, 2025.

Which occupation code holds chimney sweeps?

Chimney sweeps are counted in SOC 37-2019, Building Cleaning Workers, All Other: the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification manual lists “Chimney Sweeper” as an illustrative example of that code, next to “Building Pressure Washer” (BLS SOC manual). The 2018 SOC direct-match title file files both “Chimney Sweep” and “Chimney Sweeper” there. Brick chimney builders sit in a different code, SOC 47-2021, Brickmasons and Blockmasons (BLS SOC manual). No federal survey counts chimney sweeps alone, so every occupation figure below is for a wider group that includes them.

How many chimney sweeps work in the U.S.?

BLS estimated 17,210 wage-and-salary jobs in SOC 37-2019 in the United States in May 2025, in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey of employers (BLS OEWS). That group holds chimney sweeps, building pressure washers and other building cleaners, and it leaves out self-employed owners. Employers in NAICS 5617, services to buildings and dwellings, held 12,080 of those jobs (BLS OEWS), or 70.2% (our calculation from BLS OEWS).

BLS Employment Projections, which add the self-employed, counted 18.6 thousand jobs in SOC 37-2019 in 2025 (BLS Employment Projections). BLS projects the group to grow 2.0% from 2025 to 2035 (BLS Employment Projections). It estimates that 6.2% of these workers were self-employed in 2025 (BLS Employment Projections), against 5.8% of all U.S. workers (BLS Employment Projections).

What do chimney sweeps earn?

Wage-and-salary workers in SOC 37-2019, the code that holds chimney sweeps, earned a median of $44,040 a year in the United States in May 2025, per BLS OEWS (BLS OEWS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $32,370 (BLS OEWS) and the highest-paid 10% more than $64,030 (BLS OEWS). These are employee wages; owner-operators’ earnings are not in OEWS.

Florida had an estimated 870 jobs in SOC 37-2019 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS), with a median annual wage of $39,870 (BLS OEWS). BLS publishes no SOC 37-2019 estimate for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach or Port St. Lucie metro areas, so there is no official sweep wage for Palm Beach, Broward or Martin counties.

How many brickmasons build and repair chimneys?

BLS estimated 52,550 wage-and-salary brickmason and blockmason jobs (SOC 47-2021, the code that holds brick chimney builders) in the United States in May 2025 (BLS OEWS), with a median annual wage of $62,120 (BLS OEWS). The count covers all brick and block work, not chimney work alone. Florida had 2,610 of these jobs (BLS OEWS) and the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area 530 (BLS OEWS). BLS publishes no 47-2021 estimate for the Port St. Lucie metro area, which holds Martin County.

Which industry codes cover chimney sweeping, relining and chimney masonry?

The Census Bureau’s 2022 NAICS manual indexes “Chimney sweep (i.e., cleaning) services” to NAICS 561790, Other Services to Buildings and Dwellings (U.S. Census Bureau), an industry chimney sweeps share with duct, gutter, pool and pressure-washing businesses; chimney sweeping has no code of its own. The same index puts brick, block or stone chimney contractors in NAICS 238140, Masonry Contractors (U.S. Census Bureau), and chimney liner installation in NAICS 238220, Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (U.S. Census Bureau). Every 561790 and 238140 figure below is shared context, not a count of chimney businesses.

How much do U.S. businesses earn from chimney cleaning?

U.S. employer establishments in NAICS 561790 (shared with duct, gutter, pool and pressure-washing businesses) took in $681.4 million from chimney cleaning services in 2022, per the 2022 Economic Census (U.S. Census Bureau). That product line made up 4.9% of the industry’s receipts (U.S. Census Bureau). Across all of NAICS 5617, services to buildings and dwellings, 1,215 employer establishments reported chimney cleaning receipts (U.S. Census Bureau). The figures cover employer businesses only and leave out owner-operators with no staff.

In the 2017 Economic Census, the same line brought NAICS 561790 $315.5 million (U.S. Census Bureau), or 4.0% of its receipts (U.S. Census Bureau). Chimney cleaning receipts rose 116.0% from 2017 to 2022 before inflation, faster than the industry’s total receipts, which rose 77.1% (our calculation from the Economic Census) from $7.89 billion (U.S. Census Bureau) to $13.97 billion (U.S. Census Bureau). Duct cleaning services, the nearest Census line to dryer vent cleaning, brought the industry $843.6 million in 2022 (U.S. Census Bureau).

For advertising, the Census Bureau’s Annual Integrated Economic Survey put 2024 receipts for employer firms in NAICS 56179 (the same shared industry) at $15.07 billion but published no advertising expense figure for it (U.S. Census Bureau).

How many chimney sweep businesses are there in the U.S. and Florida?

BLS counted 21,696 private establishments in NAICS 561790 (shared with duct, gutter, pool and pressure-washing businesses) in the United States in 2025, in its Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (BLS QCEW). That was up 29.6% (our calculation from BLS QCEW) from 16,741 in 2019 (BLS QCEW). These are employer locations that report to state unemployment-insurance programs. They employed 118,516 people in 2025 (BLS QCEW), against 99,404 in 2019 (BLS QCEW), a rise of 19.2% (our calculation from BLS QCEW). Average annual pay per job rose 30.2% before inflation (our calculation from BLS QCEW), from $39,602 (BLS QCEW) to $51,558 (BLS QCEW).

Florida had 3,682 private establishments in NAICS 561790 (shared with duct, gutter, pool and pressure-washing businesses) in 2025 (BLS QCEW), 17.0% of the U.S. total (our calculation from BLS QCEW). That was up 29.2% (our calculation from BLS QCEW) from 2,850 in 2019 (BLS QCEW). The Florida establishments employed 16,232 people in 2025 (BLS QCEW) at average annual pay of $49,018 (BLS QCEW).

How many of these businesses have no employees?

The Census Bureau counted 142,112 U.S. nonemployer businesses in NAICS 56179 (shared with duct, gutter, pool and pressure-washing businesses) in 2023 (U.S. Census Bureau), against 18,069 employer establishments in County Business Patterns for the same year (U.S. Census Bureau). Nonemployers, mostly owner-operators, were 88.7% of the total (our calculation from Census data). Among the employers, 13,290 establishments had fewer than 5 employees (U.S. Census Bureau), or 73.6% (our calculation from Census County Business Patterns).

The nonemployer count reached 146,860 in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau). Those owner-operators reported $6.14 billion in receipts (U.S. Census Bureau), an average of $41,840 per business (our calculation from Census Nonemployer Statistics). Florida had 24,432 nonemployer businesses in NAICS 56179 in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau). Nonemployer counts come from tax records and include part-time and side businesses.

How many chimney sweep businesses are in Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties?

Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties together had 766 private establishments in NAICS 561790 (shared with duct, gutter, pool and pressure-washing businesses) in 2025 (our calculation from BLS QCEW). The table sets the three federal counts side by side; each covers the whole shared industry, not chimney sweeps alone.

How many masonry contractors, who build and rebuild chimneys, are there?

BLS counted 18,735 private masonry contractor establishments (NAICS 23814, which holds brick, block and stone chimney contractors) in the United States in 2025 (BLS QCEW), down 6.7% (our calculation from BLS QCEW) from 20,073 in 2019 (BLS QCEW). Average annual pay per job was $66,226 in 2025 (BLS QCEW). Florida had 1,745 of these establishments (BLS QCEW). The count covers all masonry work, of which chimneys are a small part.

How many U.S. homes have a fireplace or wood stove?

EPA's last national count put over 29 million fireplaces and 12 million wood stoves in U.S. homes, in a 2013 report that gives no survey year for the estimate (EPA). The same report said 7.8 million of those stoves, 65%, were older, inefficient models (EPA). EPA's current Burn Wise pages print no newer count.

The newest survey counts measure use, not ownership. In the Energy Information Administration's 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), which covers 123.53 million primary occupied U.S. homes (EIA), 11.05 million homes used wood for some purpose (EIA). Wood was the main heating fuel in 2.25 million of them, or 1.8% of all homes (our calculation from EIA RECS 2020), and 1.94 million heated mainly with a wood-burning stove (EIA). Another 8.83 million homes burned wood in secondary heating equipment (EIA), 3.13 million of them in a wood heating stove (EIA). RECS 2020 tables do not print how many homes simply have a fireplace.

Gas fireplaces outnumber wood ones as a heat source. In RECS 2020, 6.94 million homes used a natural gas fireplace for secondary heat (EIA), against 5.68 million using a wood fireplace (EIA) and 1.82 million using an electric one (EIA). Together that is 14.44 million homes, 11.7% of all homes, that heat with a fireplace of some kind (our calculation from EIA RECS 2020).

How many homes heat mainly with wood, and is the number falling?

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) counted 1,747,703 occupied U.S. housing units heated mainly with wood in 2025 (Census ACS), out of 134,063,422 occupied units (Census ACS). That is 1.3% of homes (our calculation from Census ACS). The 2010 ACS counted 2,382,737 (Census ACS), so wood-heated homes fell 26.7% between 2010 and 2025 while the housing stock grew (our calculation from Census ACS). Utility gas heated 62,903,472 U.S. homes in 2025 (Census ACS), or 46.9% (our calculation from Census ACS).

EIA's survey points the same way. RECS 2015 counted 3.5 million homes heated mainly with wood (EIA) out of 118.2 million (EIA), or 3.0% (our calculation from EIA RECS 2015), against 1.8% in 2020. EIA changed how it collected RECS between those years, so part of that drop may come from the method. The ACS and RECS differ in year, sample and questions, so their totals differ.

How common are fireplaces in new homes?

In 2017, 45% of the new single-family houses completed in the United States had at least one fireplace, down from 64% in 1978 (our calculation from Census Survey of Construction). The Census table behind those shares shows 55% of 2017 completions with no fireplace (Census), against 36% in 1978 (Census). In the Census South region, which includes Florida, 57% of new single-family houses completed in 2017 had no fireplace (Census). The counts come from the Census Survey of Construction, sponsored by HUD. Census publishes the fireplace series after 2017 only as a spreadsheet, so this page stops at 2017.

How many Florida and South Florida homes heat with wood or gas?

The ACS counted 9,513 occupied Florida housing units heated mainly with wood in 2025 (Census ACS), out of 9,326,796 (Census ACS): 0.10%, or about 1 in 980 homes (our calculation from Census ACS). That is down from 13,035 in 2010 (Census ACS), a fall of 27.0% (our calculation from Census ACS). Electricity heated 8,336,255 Florida homes in 2025 (Census ACS), or 89.4% (our calculation from Census ACS), and utility gas 579,045 (Census ACS), or 6.2% (our calculation from Census ACS).

More Florida homes burn some wood than heat with it. EIA's state estimate from RECS 2020 puts Florida homes that used wood for any purpose at 0.34 million, 4% of the state's homes (EIA), while 77% of Florida homes were all-electric (EIA). Across the South Census Region's 46.84 million homes (EIA), wood was the main heating fuel in 0.60 million (EIA), or 1.3% (our calculation from EIA RECS 2020). Yet the South had 2.57 million homes using a wood fireplace for secondary heat (EIA), 45% of the national total (our calculation from EIA RECS 2020), and 2.28 million using a gas fireplace (EIA).

In Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties, the ACS 2020-2024 estimates find 374 wood-heated homes in all, about 1 in 3,800 occupied units (our calculation from Census ACS). Utility gas heats 3.5% of homes across the three counties (our calculation from Census ACS). The county wood counts are small and their margins of error are wide.

What does EPA say about wood smoke, and what does it give chimney sweeps?

EPA's 2013 wood smoke report estimated that wood stoves, hydronic heaters and fireplaces emit more than 345,000 tons of fine particles (PM2.5) a year nationwide, mostly in winter (EPA); the report does not name the inventory year. EPA's 2014 changeout guide for communities says new EPA-certified stoves use 1/3 less wood for the same heat and cut creosote build-up in chimneys (EPA). That is EPA's claim about certified stoves, not a measured survey result.

EPA's Burn Wise program keeps a page for chimney sweeps. It offers a 2-minute "Wet Wood is a Waste" video, a moisture-meter video, brochures and annual chimney inspection reminder postcards, and says sweeps can link to any Burn Wise page, video or PDF from their own websites (EPA).

How many home heating fires are there in the U.S.?

U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 27,900 heating fires in residential buildings in 2023, according to the U.S. Fire Administration’s national estimates (USFA). Those fires killed 115 people, injured 525 and caused $488,000,000 in dollar loss (USFA). Heating caused 8.1% of the 344,600 residential building fires USFA estimated for 2023 (our calculation from USFA estimates). Between 2014 and 2023, USFA’s count of residential heating fires fell 31% and heating fire deaths fell 44% (USFA).

The National Fire Protection Association counts more. NFPA estimates fire departments responded to an average of 37,365 home fires a year involving heating equipment in 2020-2024, with 417 civilian deaths a year (NFPA). The two are not measuring the same thing. USFA counts fires whose cause is heating, in all residential buildings, for one year. NFPA counts “home” fires (one- and two-family homes and apartments) by the heating equipment involved, spreads fires of unknown cause across the known causes, and averages five years. Both start from fire department reports to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).

Both series fall over time. NFPA’s editions give 54,030 home heating equipment fires a year for 2011-2015 (NFPA, archived), 48,530 for 2014-2018 (NFPA, archived) and 44,210 for 2016-2020 (NFPA, archived): the 2020-2024 average is 30.8% below the 2011-2015 one (our calculation). USFA’s last full heating report put residential building heating fires at 34,200 a year in 2017-2019 (USFA), when heating was the second leading cause, at 9% of residential building fires (USFA). In 1983 there were 200,000 (USFA).

How many chimney fires are there each year?

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that fireplaces, chimneys and chimney connectors were involved in 14,200 unintentional residential fires a year in 2021-2023, a count that includes fires confined to the chimney (CPSC). Most of those never left the flue. CPSC puts confined fireplace, chimney and connector fires at 10,500 in 2023 (CPSC), an average of 12,600 a year over 2021-2023, so about 88.7% of the 14,200 stayed confined (our calculation). The confined count fell 22.8% from 2021 to 2023 (our calculation).

Fireplace, chimney and connector fires were 39.0% of the 36,400 residential fires a year that CPSC ties to heating and cooling equipment, and 4.0% of all 350,700 unintentional residential fires a year in 2021-2023 (our calculation from CPSC estimates). CPSC’s figures are built from NFIRS reports weighted to NFPA’s survey totals, and leave out intentionally set fires.

USFA’s NFIRS analysis shows the same pattern. Fires confined to the chimney or flue were 49.43% of residential building heating fires in 2017-2019, the largest single incident type, and confined fuel burner or boiler fires were another 27.16% (USFA). Confined fires of both kinds made up 77% of residential heating fires (USFA). Applying the 49.43% share to USFA’s estimate of 34,200 heating fires gives about 16,900 confined chimney or flue fires a year in 2017-2019 (our calculation). Neither agency’s current count matches the chimney-fire figure most often repeated online; the origins section below traces that number.

How much damage do chimney and fireplace fires cause?

CPSC estimates that fireplace, chimney and connector fires caused 20 deaths, 90 injuries and $125.8 million in property loss a year in U.S. homes in 2021-2023 (CPSC). That is about $8,859 per fire, averaged over confined and larger fires (our calculation). Of the larger fires that CPSC can split by fuel, solid-fuel fireplaces, chimneys and connectors accounted for 1,200 a year (CPSC).

The damage sits in the few fires that escape the chimney. NFPA found that non-confined fires involving fireplaces or chimneys were 6% of home heating equipment fires in 2020-2024 but caused 19% of their direct property damage (NFPA). The 2016-2020 edition gave 7% of fires and 22% of damage (NFPA, archived). In USFA’s 2017-2019 data, a confined residential heating fire averaged $330 in dollar loss and a nonconfined one $28,180, about 85 times as much (USFA). The ratio is our calculation.

How often is failure to clean the cause of a heating fire?

In NFPA’s 2014-2018 estimates, failure to clean, principally from solid-fueled heating equipment, primarily chimneys, was the leading factor contributing to U.S. home heating fires, at 25% (NFPA, archived). NFPA’s 2011-2015 edition put it at 28% and named creosote as the main residue (NFPA, archived). NFPA’s public pages for 2016-2020 and 2020-2024 do not print a failure-to-clean share. These are shares of home heating fires, not of all house fires.

USFA’s 2017-2019 report covers causes only for nonconfined heating fires, because NFIRS collects little detail on confined ones. There, “operational deficiency”, a group that includes failure to clean along with unattended equipment, contributed to 23% of nonconfined residential heating fires, and a heat source too close to combustibles was the leading single factor, at 27% (USFA). Heating stoves were the equipment involved in 19.7% of those fires, more than any other type (USFA).

When and where do heating fires happen?

USFA found that residential heating fires peaked in January, at 20% of the year’s incidents in 2017-2019 (USFA). 80% of them happened in one- and two-family homes, which USFA links partly to fireplaces and chimneys that apartments rarely have (USFA). Portable heaters are a small share of heating fires but 41% of fatal home heating fires in 2017-2019 (USFA).

How many clothes dryer fires are there?

USFA estimated 2,900 clothes dryer fires a year in U.S. residential buildings reported to fire departments in 2008-2010, its most recent dryer report (USFA). Failure to clean was the leading factor contributing to ignition, at 34 percent (USFA), and dust, fiber and lint were the leading item first ignited, at 28 percent (USFA). CPSC’s newer residential fire estimates use a wider scope and are not a trend against these figures.

How many people die of carbon monoxide poisoning in the U.S.?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 400 Americans die each year from unintentional carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning not linked to fires, more than 100,000 visit an emergency department and more than 14,000 are hospitalized (CDC). CDC’s figure covers every source, including vehicles, and the page does not say which years it averages.

Death certificates give a firmer count. CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics recorded 2,244 U.S. deaths from unintentional CO poisoning in 2010-2015, with the most deaths each year in the winter months (CDC MMWR), and 393 in 2015 alone (CDC MMWR).

The Consumer Product Safety Commission counts a narrower group: non-fire CO deaths tied to consumer products under its jurisdiction, which leaves out vehicles. CPSC staff estimate 274 such deaths in 2022, the highest year in its 2012-2022 series (CPSC), and an average of 238 a year in 2020-2022 (CPSC). 59% of the 2020-2022 deaths happened in November, December, January and February (CPSC). USFA’s carbon monoxide page still quotes an older CPSC figure of more than 150 deaths a year (USFA).

How many carbon monoxide deaths involve furnaces and other heating systems?

CPSC staff estimate that heating systems were associated with 76 of the non-fire CO deaths tied to consumer products in the U.S. in 2022, the second largest group after engine-driven tools such as generators (CPSC). LP gas heating accounted for 43 of them, most involving unvented portable propane heaters (CPSC). Of the deaths tied to natural gas heating, 11 involved installed natural gas furnaces (CPSC).

Over 2012-2022, CPSC counts 622 CO deaths associated with heating systems alone, fewer than for generators alone (CPSC). In the cases it describes, CPSC staff list vents that came loose or were installed or maintained badly, flues blocked by soot, and large amounts of debris in a chimney among the conditions found.

How many workers die on the job in chimney and building services?

BLS counted 295 fatal work injuries in NAICS 5617, services to buildings and dwellings, in the United States in 2024, in its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (BLS CFOI). Falls, slips and trips caused 80 of them (BLS CFOI), or 27.1% (our calculation from BLS CFOI). The count includes the self-employed. In the narrower NAICS 56179 (shared by chimney sweeps with duct, gutter, pool and pressure-washing businesses), BLS counted 16 deaths (BLS CFOI), 6 of them from falls, slips and trips (BLS CFOI). BLS publishes no chimney-sweep line.

Across all U.S. private industry, BLS counted 4,616 fatal work injuries in 2024 (BLS CFOI), 797 of them from falls, slips and trips (BLS CFOI). Falls caused 17.3% of private-industry deaths (our calculation from BLS CFOI), a smaller share than in building services.

How dangerous is chimney masonry work?

Masonry contractors (NAICS 23814, which holds brick and stone chimney contractors) had 26 fatal work injuries in the United States in 2024, per BLS CFOI (BLS CFOI). Falls, slips and trips caused 14 of them (BLS CFOI), or 53.8% (our calculation from BLS CFOI). Masonry employers reported 1.2 cases with days away from work per 100 full-time workers in 2024, per the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (BLS SOII).

How often are building-service workers hurt on the job?

Employers in NAICS 5617, services to buildings and dwellings, reported 2.6 recordable injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers in 2024, per BLS SOII (BLS SOII). Their rate of cases with days away from work was 1.3 per 100 (BLS SOII). The private-industry rate was 0.8 (BLS SOII), so building services ran at 1.6 times that rate (our calculation from BLS SOII). In NAICS 56179 (shared by chimney sweeps with duct, gutter, pool and pressure-washing businesses), the days-away rate was 0.7 per 100 (BLS SOII). SOII covers employees only, not self-employed sweeps, and BLS publishes no chimney-sweep line.

What are the NFPA 211 chimney inspection levels?

NFPA 211, the National Fire Protection Association's standard for chimneys, fireplaces, vents and solid fuel-burning appliances, sorts chimney inspections into three levels, according to a March 2000 press release from the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), the association that certifies sweeps (CSIA). CSIA said NFPA adopted the levels on January 13, 2000 (CSIA). We did not read NFPA 211 itself, which NFPA sells; the descriptions below come from CSIA and from NFPA's public committee files.

• A Level I inspection, in CSIA's 2000 description, is for a chimney that is easy to reach and whose use is not changing, and it is the level done in most homes (CSIA).
• In the same 2000 description, a Level II inspection is required when a new heating appliance is added or the fuel changes (CSIA).
• The same 2000 release said a Level II is also required on the sale or transfer of a property, or after a malfunction or outside event likely to have damaged the chimney (CSIA).
• In that 2000 description, a Level II could include a smoke or pressure test and possibly an interior chimney video inspection if the sweep recommended it (CSIA).

On how often, CSIA quotes NFPA 211 as saying chimneys, fireplaces and vents shall be inspected at least once a year for soundness, freedom from deposits and correct clearances, with cleaning and repairs done if necessary (CSIA). The page does not name the edition it quotes.

What does an NFPA 211 Level 2 inspection include?

A video scan: CSIA's Level 2 procedure for masonry chimneys, revised April 5, 2019, says video scanning (or a similar inspection) of the chimney interior is required during a Level Two inspection (CSIA). That is a step up from CSIA's 2000 wording, where video was optional.

• The 2019 procedure recommends a Level 2 when the property is being sold, before lining or relining, and after a building or chimney fire, a weather or seismic event, or a malfunction (CSIA). The 2000 release said “required” for a sale; the 2019 procedure says “recommended”.
• The sweep must go on the roof and inspect the system in accessible attics, basements and crawl spaces (CSIA).
• For unlisted appliances, CSIA says clearances follow local code, which is normally 36 inches from the appliance to combustible material in all directions (CSIA).

The 2024 edition narrowed the scan. A paragraph added to the proposed 2024 edition (15.4.2.4) limits the duty to inspect all flues and flue liners to the flues and liners requested to be inspected, according to NFPA's own committee file (NFPA). A sweep asked NFPA to delete it through an emergency amendment (TIA No. 1733), arguing that a partial inspection of a chimney being sold can miss damage in the flues left out. The committee's final ballot failed: 14 members disagreed on technical merit and 8 agreed, short of the three-quarters majority needed, as reported in a memorandum dated July 17, 2023 (NFPA). Where that paragraph applies, the scope of a Level 2 scan for a home sale depends on which flues the client asks to have inspected. This is a plain description of the standard, not legal advice; local codes decide which edition applies.

What do EPA wood heater rules require?

A new wood stove made or sold at retail in the United States since May 15, 2020 must emit no more than 2.0 g/hr of fine particles (weighted average, crib wood test), EPA's “Step 2” limit in 40 CFR part 60 subpart AAA (eCFR). Stoves certified only to the older limits carry a permanent label saying they are not approved for sale after that date (eCFR). The rules bind manufacturers and retailers of new heaters; they do not require owners to replace stoves already installed.

Open fireplaces are outside the rule: EPA lists manufactured or site-built masonry fireplaces as appliances that are not residential heating devices (eCFR). An EPA certificate for a stove model line lasts 5 years or until a stricter standard takes effect (eCFR).

What did EPA estimate the wood heater rule would cost and save?

In its 2015 final rule, EPA estimated annual net benefits of $3.4 billion to $7.6 billion (3% discount rate, 2013 dollars) for 2015 to 2020 (Federal Register). These are EPA's projections from its regulatory impact analysis, not measured results.

• Total annualized cost: $45.7 million, which EPA called small next to the benefits (Federal Register).
• Fine particle (PM2.5) cut: 8,269 tons per year (Federal Register).
• Avoided premature deaths: 360 per year with one health model (Krewski et al., 2009) or 810 with another (Lepeule et al., 2012) (Federal Register).
• Appliances covered: new wood-burning appliances under the rule numbered more than 200,000 in 2015 (Federal Register).
• Industry: over 90 percent of manufacturers and retailers are small businesses, EPA said, one reason it phased the limits in (Federal Register).
• Starting point: Over 85 percent of heaters and stoves sold in 2015 already met the Step 1 limit (Federal Register).
• In its 2014 proposal, EPA had put a stricter Step 2 limit of 1.3 g/hr for room heaters before settling on 2.0 g/hr (Federal Register).

Did EPA ever extend the Step 2 deadline?

No. In November 2018 EPA proposed letting retailers sell leftover Step 1 hydronic heaters and forced-air furnaces through May 15, 2022 (Federal Register). In a final action on April 2, 2020, EPA decided on the proposed sell-through “by not promulgating such provisions”, saying retailers and makers gave too little data and Step 2 models were already on sale in every category (Federal Register). On May 22, 2020, citing COVID-19 store closures, EPA proposed again to allow sales of Step 1 units until November 30, 2020 (Federal Register). We found no final rule adopting it in the Federal Register, and the current eCFR text has no such sell-through.

What does Florida require?

Florida law requires a carbon monoxide alarm within 10 feet of each sleeping room in any building or addition constructed on or after July 1, 2008 that has a CO source (Florida Statutes). The triggers include a fossil-fuel heater or appliance, an attached garage and a fireplace (Florida Statutes). The rule does not reach existing buildings undergoing alterations or repairs, unless the work is an addition (Florida Statutes). Hospitals, hospices and nursing homes follow a separate detector rule in the same section.

No Florida statute licenses chimney sweeping by name; a search of the 2026 Florida Statutes for “chimney” returned only a school-facilities definition. The licensing rules that come closest:

• The Legislature told the Construction Industry Licensing Board to create, by July 1, 2025, voluntary specialty categories that include Structural masonry (Florida Statutes). Such a category is a voluntary statewide licensing category and creates no mandatory license (Florida Statutes).
• Casual, minor or inconsequential work with a total contract price under $2,500 is exempt from contractor licensing, unless it is part of a larger job or the person advertises as a contractor (Florida Statutes).
• Local governments may not require a license for job scopes that do not match a state contractor category; the statute's examples include handyman services and pressure washing, though not chimney sweeping by name (Florida Statutes).

This is a plain description of the statutes, not legal advice. Relining, rebuilding a crown or other structural work can fall under the Florida Building Code and local permits.

What fall protection applies on a roof?

It depends on whether OSHA treats the job as construction. OSHA's general industry rule requires fall protection at 4 feet or more above a lower level (29 CFR 1910.28), and its construction rule at 6 feet (29 CFR 1926.501), as of the eCFR text current in November 2026 (eCFR) (eCFR). OSHA defines construction work as work for construction, alteration, and/or repair (eCFR), so rebuilding or relining a chimney is more likely to fall under the construction rules than routine sweeping. We found no OSHA letter of interpretation on house-chimney sweeping.

Definitions: low-slope roof (eCFR), steep roof (eCFR). OSHA's letters that do name chimneys concern tall industrial stacks. In 1994 OSHA said neither rule set addresses chimney platforms, but scaffold rules allow up to 14 inches between the working edge and the structure before the gap must be filled or fall protection used (OSHA). By 2007 OSHA had granted 16 chimney-construction employers permanent variances from its personnel hoist rules (OSHA).

How high must a chimney stand above the roof?

For manufactured homes, HUD's federal construction standard requires a fireplace or wood stove chimney to extend at least three feet above the part of the roof it passes through, and also to clear any part of the home close by (24 CFR 3280.709) (eCFR). Site-built homes follow state and local building codes, which this page did not read.

What do chimney and dryer-vent franchisors disclose?

Five chimney, dryer-vent and duct-cleaning franchisors had 311 U.S. outlets between them in their latest franchise disclosure documents on Minnesota’s CARDS database (our calculation; end of 2025 for four of them, end of 2023 for Dryer Vent Squad). Midtown Chimney Sweeps, the only chimney franchisor filed in Minnesota, had 31 franchised outlets at the end of 2025, down from 39 a year earlier (Midtown Chimney Sweeps FDD 2026); 8 outlets ceased operations or were not renewed during 2025 (Midtown FDD 2026). It started 2021 with 41 outlets (Midtown FDD 2024), so it shrank -24.4% by the end of 2025 (our calculation).

Dryer Vent Wizard, a Neighborly brand, is the largest: 163 franchised outlets at the end of 2025, down 2 in the year but +23.5% since the start of 2023 (Dryer Vent Wizard FDD 2026; our calculation). Mr. Duct Cleaner, an air duct and HVAC cleaning franchise, had 17 outlets at the end of 2025, 1 of them company-owned (Mr. Duct Cleaner FDD 2026). Dryer Vent Superheroes went from 6 franchised outlets at the end of 2023 to 54 at the end of 2025, by its 2026 filing, which is on CARDS only as a marked-up copy (Dryer Vent Superheroes FDD 2026). Dryer Vent Squad had 46 at the end of 2023 (Dryer Vent Squad FDD 2024), +253.8% from 13 at the start of 2021 (our calculation). Chimney Hero, a brand often named in the trade, has no filing on CARDS, and Ductz’s 2026 filing, also marked up only, was not read, so neither is counted.

Outlet counts are franchised and company-owned outlets from Item 20 (Dryer Vent Superheroes: franchised only); Florida figures are franchised outlets from Item 20 Table 3. Investment is each franchisor’s own estimate from its cover page. Franchisors sell franchises, so every figure here is one the seller chose or was required to file.

Florida had 6.4% of the four dryer-vent and duct brands’ U.S. outlets, 18 of 280 (our calculation); Midtown Chimney Sweeps lists none in the state. Dryer Vent Wizard’s Florida count rose from 6 at the start of 2023 to 11 at the end of 2025 (Dryer Vent Wizard FDD 2026), 6.7% of its U.S. outlets (our calculation). The median low-end initial investment across the five documents is $87,000 (our calculation). A Midtown Chimney Sweeps protected territory is about 110,000 households (Midtown FDD 2026).

The ad funds say little about video. In 2025 Midtown Chimney Sweeps spent 37.97% of its technology and advertising fund on pay-per-click and national search ranking, 20.91% on its website and 31.95% on contract labor for search optimization and ad production (Midtown FDD 2026). Its 2026 document asks franchisees to follow its social media guidelines for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+, a network that closed to consumers in 2019, and never uses the words video or YouTube (Midtown FDD 2026). Dryer Vent Wizard lists television commercials and video among the materials its MAP fund may produce, without a spending breakdown (Dryer Vent Wizard FDD 2026). Dryer Vent Superheroes bars franchisees from keeping a business profile on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or other social media without written approval (Dryer Vent Superheroes FDD 2026); its franchisees spent a system average of $8,435 a month on marketing from November 2024 to October 2025, with no split by channel (Dryer Vent Superheroes FDD 2026). Mr. Duct Cleaner’s Collin County, Texas, affiliate spent $3,598.85 on advertising and promotion in 2025 (Mr. Duct Cleaner FDD 2026) against $574,809.37 of income (Mr. Duct Cleaner FDD 2026), or 0.6% (our calculation).

Item 19 figures are sales franchisees reported to the franchisor, unaudited and before costs. The 31 Midtown Chimney Sweeps territories open all of 2025 averaged $168,501.86 in gross revenue (Midtown FDD 2026); the same document prints a median of $244,315.08, above the average, which we reproduce as filed (Midtown FDD 2026). Its best territory took $1,669,881.20 and its weakest $43,619.41 (Midtown FDD 2026). The 73 single-unit Dryer Vent Wizard businesses open all of 2025 averaged $236,672 in gross sales, with a median of $165,307 (Dryer Vent Wizard FDD 2026); its 31 multi-unit owners averaged $747,054 each across 81 businesses (Dryer Vent Wizard FDD 2026). The average Dryer Vent Wizard job was $384.86 (Dryer Vent Wizard FDD 2026), and systemwide gross sales reached $42,179,652 in 2025 (Dryer Vent Wizard FDD 2026), up 11.4% from 2024 (our calculation). Six Mr. Duct Cleaner franchise units averaged $449,907 in 2025 revenue (Mr. Duct Cleaner FDD 2026). Dryer Vent Superheroes businesses open at least twelve months averaged $192,880 in revenue per truck from November 2024 to October 2025 (Dryer Vent Superheroes FDD 2026), with a system average ticket of $346 (Dryer Vent Superheroes FDD 2026).

What does the biggest hearth maker report?

HNI Corporation’s Residential Building Products segment, which is Hearth & Home Technologies, had $674.9 million in net sales in 2025, up from $638.4 million in 2024 (HNI 10-K 2025). HNI says segment sales rose 5.7 percent because remodel/retrofit sales increased while new construction was flat; it does not print the dollar split (HNI 10-K 2025). HNI calls Hearth & Home North America’s largest maker and marketer of prefabricated fireplaces and hearth stoves (HNI 10-K 2025), with brands such as Heat & Glo, Heatilator, Majestic, Quadra-Fire, Harman and Vermont Castings. It says it leads in direct vent fireplaces, which replace a traditional chimney with a cheaper vent through the roof or an outer wall (HNI 10-K 2025), and that remodel and retrofit buying is concentrated from September to December (HNI 10-K 2025). These are factory sales of hearth products to dealers, distributors and builders, not chimney service revenue.

From 2019 to 2025 the segment grew 22.8% in current dollars, and 2025 sales were 22.9% below the 2022 peak (our calculations). HNI blamed the 2023 fall on housing weakness and higher interest rates (HNI 10-K 2023).

How often do 10-K filings mention chimney sweeps?

Rarely. From 2001 to 2025, 22 Form 10-K filings contained the phrase “chimney sweep” or “chimney sweeps”, by our count from EDGAR full-text search, and 17 of them came in 2006-2011; none came in 2022-2025. They came from 10 filers, none of them a chimney service company. Essex Property Trust and its operating partnership filed 50.0% of them, because their property tables list a Goleta, California, community called Chimney Sweep Apartments (our count). Most of the rest are exhibits, such as leases for Paris and German premises that make the tenant pay the chimney sweep, and insurers’ lists of excluded risks. No chimney sweep business files a 10-K.

A broader search finds 45 10-K filings from 2001 to 2025 that contain both “chimney” and “fireplace”; HNI Corporation filed 25 of them, 55.6% (our count). Filings with the word “chimney” at all numbered 441 over the 25 years, 15 of them in 2025 against a high of 24 in 2006 and 2013 (our count). The year-by-year counts, filers and query URLs are in our EDGAR count file.

Who certifies chimney sweeps?

The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), a non-profit based in Plainfield, Indiana, runs the best-known credential, the Certified Chimney Sweep (CCS), which it says it set up in 1983 to give homeowners a way to measure a sweep's technical expertise (CSIA). CSIA itself describes chimney sweeping as an unregulated (or mostly unregulated) industry in which anyone can draft an exam and hand out a certificate (CSIA).

To earn the CCS, a sweep completes a CCS review and passes the CCS exam. CSIA's flagship route is its National Training Academy: for its 2027 classes, primary registration is listed at $1,950 and the exam at $330 (CSIA), so the course and exam together come to $2,280 at CSIA's listed prices, before manuals, travel and hotel (our calculation). A live one-day CCS review costs $345 for an in-person registrant, with the exam extra (CSIA).

The credential is not for life. CSIA Certified Chimney Sweeps must re-certify by exam or continuing education credits every three years (CSIA). CSIA charges an annual payment of $249 in the first two years of each cycle, which is $498 a cycle before the cost of renewing (our calculation); a sweep who renews on continuing education alone needs 48 CEUs spread across technical, codes and standards, communication and liability, health and safety and open categories (CSIA).

For dryer vents, CSIA offers the Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician (CDET) credential, which it says is recognized in all 50 states and is the only certification specifically for those who service dryer vents (CSIA). We found no count of credential holders on CSIA's site. We did not read the National Chimney Sweep Guild's site, whose robots rules bar AI crawlers, so this page has no NCSG figures.

What does a chimney sweep cost?

Four sellers' U.S. cost guides from 2025 and 2026 put the typical price of a chimney sweep between $254 (Angi) and $400 (Fixr) (Angi) (Fixr). The median of the four typical prices is $330, and the highest and lowest are $146 apart (our calculation). All four make money by sending homeowners to pros, and each counts something different:

Fixr's typical price is for a Level 2 inspection and cleaning of a wood stove chimney, which helps explain why it sits at the top. Jobber, which sells field-service software to sweeps, tells its readers that chimney sweep companies typically charge an average of $275, and links that figure to HomeGuide's guide (Jobber): it is a repeat of HomeGuide's number, not a second measurement.

For Florida, Angi puts the 2026 average at $250, $4 below its national average (our calculation), without saying how many Florida jobs sit behind it (Angi). Angi also says chimney sweeping accounts for more than half of all chimney maintenance service requests it sees, without giving a count or period (Angi).

What does a chimney inspection cost by level?

The sellers agree that each NFPA 211 inspection level costs more than the one below it, and on little else. HomeGuide's 2026 guide puts a Level 1 inspection at $100 to $250 on average, including basic cleaning, while Fixr's 2025 guide puts it at about $85 to $950 (HomeGuide) (Fixr). For Level 3, HomeGuide gives $900 to $5,000 for up to three flues (HomeGuide).

Angi disagrees with itself. Its chimney sweep guide, updated three days after its inspection guide, puts a Level 3 inspection at $500 to $800, with lower Level 1 and Level 2 ranges too (Angi); the top of the inspection guide's Level 3 range is 6.25 times the sweep guide's (our calculation). Thumbtack does not split by level: it says most people pay around $498 for a chimney inspection, according to Thumbtack data updated July 8, 2026 (Thumbtack). None of the four says how many inspections at each level sit behind its ranges.

What does a chimney camera inspection cost?

A single-flue chimney video inspection costs $200 to $400 in Angi's 2026 guide and $150 to $400 in Fixr's 2025 guide, with repairs extra (Angi) (Fixr). As an add-on, Fixr says some sweeps offer a camera inspection during a cleaning for an additional $50 to $75 (Fixr), and Thumbtack gives the same $50–$75 for sending a camera down the flue on top of a simple inspection (Thumbtack).

In the sellers' descriptions the camera belongs to Level 2: HomeGuide says its Level 2 price ($250 to $600) includes a video inspection of the internal parts, and Angi says inspectors at that level may deploy remote video cameras. Fixr adds that when a video inspection is done, the inspector usually emails the homeowner a digital copy of the recording (Fixr). CSIA's guidance after a chimney fire is that once the chimney is swept, the next step is an internal video inspection, with a small camera on sweep rods lowered down the chimney or run up from below, and that pictures can usually be downloaded from the camera (CSIA).

What does dryer vent cleaning cost?

Angi puts the 2026 U.S. average for dryer vent cleaning at $145, based on 15,385 verified projects by Angi pros (Angi). Fixr's 2025 guide gives a national average of $150 (Fixr), and Thumbtack says most people pay around $307, according to Thumbtack data updated July 8, 2026 (Thumbtack). The median of the three is $150 (our calculation).

HomeGuide's guide, dated April 29, 2024, gives ranges only: $80 to $185 for standard vents, more for roof vents (HomeGuide). Angi's 2026 range for a roof dryer vent, $150 – $250, is the same as HomeGuide's 2024 roof range, and Angi's second-floor and ground-floor ranges match HomeGuide's table to the dollar as well (Angi).

What do chimney caps and liners cost?

HomeGuide's 2026 guide says replacing a chimney cap costs $200 to $850 in total, unit and labor (HomeGuide); Fixr says most homeowners pay an average of $425 for a mid-size aluminum prefab cap (Fixr). For relining, Angi puts the 2026 average for chimney liner installation at $2,500 (Angi), Fixr says most homeowners pay around $2,500 for a flexible double-wall stainless-steel liner (Fixr), and HomeGuide gives $1,500 to $4,000 on average (HomeGuide).

Can chimney sweeps buy Google Local Services Ads?

Not under a chimney category in the United States. Google's U.S. list of Local Services Ads categories includes HVAC (heating or air conditioning), plumbers, roofers and pool cleaners, but no chimney, chimney sweep or dryer-vent category, as of November 7, 2026 (Google). Google says these ads are available only for certain service categories.

Software sellers fill the gap with advice. ServiceTitan, which sells software to chimney businesses, says a comprehensive marketing strategy for a chimney sweep business can range between $1,600 and $2,500 a month, without a source, sample or date for the estimate (ServiceTitan).

What do the popular chimney numbers really say?

Most of them are old Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates, repeated after CPSC itself replaced them, or after their scope was dropped. On November 7, 2026 we traced five figures that chimney sweeps, insurers, marketers and news stories repeat, back through archived CPSC reports and safety alerts, the Federal Register, the Chimney Safety Institute of America’s (CSIA) pages since 1996, and the repeaters themselves.

“25,000 chimney fires a year cause $125 million in damage”

The claim as repeated: Bob Vila’s home-improvement site says there are more than 25,000 chimney fires a year in the United States, with damage of the same rounded sum, naming no source (Bob Vila). Houzeo, a real-estate listing site, opens its chimney inspection guide with “$125 million” a year in chimney fire damage across 25,000 incidents (Houzeo). The Kitsap Daily News, in November 2011, credited CSIA with an average of 25,100 chimney fires a year, with 30 deaths and $126.1 million in damage (Kitsap Daily News), and a November 2017 MarketersMedia release still gave 25,100 fires “caused by fireplaces and chimneys between 2003 and 2005” (MarketersMedia).

Where it came from: CPSC’s 2003-2005 Residential Fire Loss Estimates, published in August 2008. CSIA copied its table onto its own statistics page that year: residential fires involving a fireplace, chimney or chimney connector averaged 25,100 a year in 2003-2005 (CSIA, archived), with average property loss of $126.1 million (CSIA, archived) and 30 deaths a year (CSIA, archived). CPSC’s own copy of that report is a scanned image; we read it by OCR and its rows match. Round 25,100 and $126.1 million down and you get the popular pair. CPSC’s next edition, published in October 2009, gave an average of 25,400 fires a year for 2004-2006 (CPSC, archived).

What it measured: fires in homes, reported to fire departments, in which a fireplace, a chimney or a chimney connector was the equipment involved, so fireplaces count too. Most of them never left the flue. CPSC’s 2004-2006 report counts 21,900 confined fires in that category in 2004 alone, fires kept inside the chimney (CPSC, archived), out of a category that averaged 25,400 a year. That is why CSIA’s September 2018 description of “over 22,000 known residential damage causing chimney fires annually” (CSIA via PR Newswire) overstates the damage. CSIA’s September 2014 release put the 2009-2011 average at 24,300 a year (CSIA via PR Newswire).

The older forms come from CPSC’s old method, which left confined fires out. CPSC’s revised 1980-1998 series puts chimney or connector fires at 78,700 in 1980, falling every year to the end of the decade (CPSC, archived), and at 10,700 in 1998 (CPSC, archived). A 2005 Hearth.com forum post saying CPSC “estimates that about 45,000 chimney fires occur each year” (Hearth.com forum) matches that series in the mid-1980s. CPSC staff wrote that NFIRS changes affected the estimates since 1999 considerably and strongly discouraged comparing estimates after 1998 with earlier years (CPSC, archived), so the fall from 78,700 to 10,700 and the rise back to 25,100 are not a trend.

The oldest dated CPSC count we found is narrower still. CPSC’s April 14, 1983 safety alert said an estimated 22,500 house fires each year were associated with metal factory-built chimneys connected to wood and coal stoves (CPSC, archived). Its chimney safety alert of the same year said wood-burning appliances were involved in about 140,000 fires in 1982, and that most wood heating fires involve the chimney, not the stove (CPSC, archived). The May 16, 1983 Federal Register notice on wood and coal burning appliances estimated that in 1981 there were approximately 71,000 fires in wood stoves and their venting systems (CPSC, Federal Register).

Use instead: CPSC’s newest estimate, 14,200 fireplace, chimney and chimney connector fires a year in 2021-2023, including confined chimney fires, with $125.8 million a year in property loss. Say that most are confined to the flue: CPSC counts 10,500 confined fireplace, chimney or connector fires in 2023, and USFA puts fires confined to the chimney or flue at 49.43% of residential heating fires in 2017-2019. Do not call them “chimney fires” without saying fireplaces are in the count.

“Creosote causes X% of house fires”

The claim as repeated: the number changes with the repeater. A March 2014 post by Black Goose Chimney, a sweep company, says that according to the Department of Homeland Security 73% of heating fires, and a quarter of all residential fires, are caused by failure to clean out creosote (Black Goose Chimney). We found no DHS, U.S. Fire Administration or NFPA document behind either figure. HomeGrail, a home-services information site, says failure to keep equipment and chimney clean causes 25% of heating-equipment fires, citing NFPA (HomeGrail). A December 2013 fact sheet from Pine Mountain, which sells firelogs and creosote-treatment logs, says 57% of home fireplace, chimney and connector fires involve failure to clean, citing NFPA (Pine Mountain via PR Newswire). Clean Sweeps of Michigan, a sweep company, quoted a “conservative best estimate” of 14,190 reported creosote fires a year nationally, framed as a share of home heating fires, in January 2012 (Clean Sweeps of Michigan).

Where it came from: the National Fire Protection Association’s home heating fire analyses, which rank the factors contributing to ignition. A January 2020 wood-heating blog keeps the original scope: failure to clean creosote from solid-fueled heating equipment, primarily chimneys, was the leading factor contributing to home heating fires (Wood-Fired Heating and Cooking blog). The 14,190 wording comes from an NFPA heating equipment report; its PDF sits in a folder NFPA’s robots file closes to us, so we could not confirm the edition.

What it measured: a share of home heating fires, not of all house fires, and a factor contributing to ignition, not a sole cause. Heating fires were 8.1% of U.S. residential building fires in 2023 (USFA estimates, our calculation), so even a large share of heating fires is a small share of house fires.

Use instead: NFPA’s own figure: in 2014-2018, failure to clean, mainly creosote in solid-fueled equipment and chimneys, was the leading factor in U.S. home heating fires, at 25%; the 2011-2015 edition said 28%. Name the scope every time: home heating fires.

“Video on a landing page lifts conversions 80%”

The 80% is a best case from one video vendor, EyeView, in 2009-2010, about a trading platform and a tutoring site, not chimney or home services. EyeView’s blog first reported that eToro visitors who watched its video were 20% more likely to download the product (December 2008) (EyeView, archived). In February 2009 it said UMOO viewers were 80% more likely to become depositing users, comparing viewers with non-viewers for one client (EyeView, archived), and in November 2009 it quoted a TutorVista manager on a first test that lifted conversion by over 80 percent (EyeView, archived). Its 2010 white paper said only that “in some cases” the boost was over 80% (EyeView white paper, archived), and the one test it described, the eToro split test, was now almost 32 percent (EyeView white paper, archived).

The scope fell away in repeats. By August 2010 Unbounce, a landing-page software seller, wrote that video on landing pages can increase conversion by 80% (Unbounce, archived), and WordStream, a pay-per-click software seller, repeated 80% in March 2016, crediting “EyeWideDigital” (WordStream). REsimpli, a CRM seller to real estate investors, listed an up-to-80% lift in February 2025 (REsimpli). In the home-services trades, Webtonic, a web design and marketing agency that sells to contractors, opens its July 2026 electrical-services video statistics page with “up to 80%” (Webtonic), crediting another video seller. We found no chimney sweep or home-services test behind the figure.

The larger later evidence points the other way. Unbounce’s own 2021 analysis of about 35,000 customer landing pages in each of three periods (Unbounce) concluded that video appears to have a minimal or negative impact on landing-page performance regardless of the conversion goal (Unbounce). Use instead: do not cite a conversion lift for chimney sweep video; say Unbounce’s 2021 study of 35,000 pages found video had a minimal or negative effect, and judge a sweep’s videos by its own booked jobs and calls.

“15,500 dryer fires a year”

The claim as repeated: a National Park Service fire prevention article says that according to CPSC, 15,500 clothes dryer fires occur annually (National Park Service). Dryer-vent cleaning sites and fire departments repeat the same line.

Where it came from: CPSC’s safety alert “Overheated Clothes Dryers Can Cause Fires” (Document 5022), on cpsc.gov by January 2001, which gave an estimated annual 15,500 fires associated with clothes dryers (CPSC, archived). It names no year. CPSC’s annual series fits the late 1990s: dryer fires were 15,600 in 1998 (CPSC, archived), down from 19,500 in 1980, and stayed near that level through the 1990s (CPSC, archived).

What it measured: residential fires in which a dryer was the equipment involved, estimated with CPSC’s pre-1999 method, which CPSC says should not be compared with later years (see 1998 above).

Use instead: the U.S. Fire Administration’s estimate of 2,900 clothes dryer fires a year in U.S. residential buildings in 2008-2010, with failure to clean the leading factor at 34 percent. Say which agency and which years.

“Chimney fires burn at 2,000 degrees”

The figure is CSIA’s own round number, unchanged since at least 1996. CSIA’s chimney fire page, captured in November 1996, said masonry chimney fires burn at high temperatures, “around 2000’ F”, that can melt mortar, crack tiles and collapse liners (CSIA, archived). Its current “Preventing Chimney Fires” page says the same: around 2000°F (CSIA). Neither page cites a measurement.

What it measured: nothing that was measured. The nearest real number on CSIA’s pages is a test condition: in 2012 CSIA wrote that most tests require factory-built metal chimneys to withstand flue temperatures up to 2100°F without damage (CSIA, archived). Use instead: say chimney fires can burn hot enough to crack flue tiles and damage liners, and name CSIA if you give a temperature.

Every popular claim our research pages trace, 805 in all, is on one page: popular video statistics, fact-checked.

How we built this page

We started from the questions people search for about chimney sweep video statistics and looked for the organization that actually produced each answer. Every figure on this page sits in an evidence ledger with its source, the exact table or paragraph it came from, the measurement period, the population measured, and the date we checked it. This edition holds 501 figures from 41 publishers.

On November 7, 2026, each sourced figure on this page was re-fetched with the fetch cache cleared and matched against the recorded wording: BLS occupation wage estimates and Employment Projections (through the BLS data API and Internet Archive copies, because bls.gov refuses automated requests), the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, and fatal and nonfatal injury tables; Census County Business Patterns, Nonemployer Statistics, the 2017 and 2022 Economic Census, the Annual Integrated Economic Survey and the American Community Survey (through the Census data API), and the Survey of Construction; EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey tables; U.S. Fire Administration reports and national estimates; CPSC fire loss and carbon monoxide reports; NFPA’s heating fire pages (the current one read in a browser, because its text loads only with JavaScript, and older editions through Internet Archive copies) and an NFPA committee ballot memo; CDC pages and MMWR; eCFR, the Federal Register and OSHA letters; the 2026 Florida Statutes; the franchise disclosure documents of Midtown Chimney Sweeps, Dryer Vent Wizard, Mr. Duct Cleaner, Dryer Vent Superheroes and Dryer Vent Squad filed in Minnesota; HNI Corporation’s 10-K filings on SEC EDGAR; CSIA’s own pages; the cost guides of Angi, HomeGuide, Thumbtack and Fixr; and the pages behind each popular claim. Our YouTube figures come from the YouTube Data API and our filing counts from EDGAR full-text search. We left out NFPA’s PDF reports (its robots rules bar the folder they sit in), the National Chimney Sweep Guild and the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (robots rules that bar AI agents), HomeAdvisor and Yelp, and Census’s fireplace counts for new homes after 2017 (published only as a spreadsheet our checker cannot read).

We only cite the producer: government agencies, regulators, company filings and official posts, and the survey owner's own report. We do not cite statistics roundups, Statista-style aggregators, or salary sites without a public method. We did not bypass paywalls or sign-up forms; where a full report was gated, we used only the figures its publisher states publicly.

Figures marked "our calculation" are arithmetic on the cited numbers, and anyone can reproduce them:

This edition contains no Mark Studios customer data.

Limitations

• No government count isolates chimney sweeps. BLS files them with building pressure washers and other cleaners in occupation 37-2019, and Census files sweeping in industry 561790 with duct, gutter, pool and pressure-washing businesses. The 2022 Economic Census chimney cleaning line ($681.4 million) is the only figure for the trade itself, and it covers employer businesses only.
• Fire counts differ by source. USFA counts heating fires in all residential buildings for one year; NFPA counts fires involving heating equipment in homes and averages five years; CPSC counts unintentional fires by the product involved. We print them side by side and say which is which.
• Our YouTube read follows YouTube’s ranking. The 476 videos are what YouTube’s search returned for ‘chimney sweep’, ‘chimney cleaning’ and ‘chimney inspection’ (the top 200 results of each, sorted by views, with no country filter) on November 7, 2026. Many were about kitchen range hoods, which we set aside; view counts are lifetime snapshots, and we sorted 377 channels by hand from their public text without checking any licence or certification.
• Prices are sellers’ figures. Angi, HomeGuide, Thumbtack and Fixr sell leads or software to the trade; only Angi says how many projects stand behind its averages. Their ranges are wide and sometimes disagree within the same site.
• Franchise figures are what each franchisor chose to disclose. Item 19 figures cover the outlets and periods each franchisor picked, and only one chimney franchisor files in Minnesota.
• Some housing data is old. EIA’s 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey is its newest published edition, and EPA’s fireplace and wood stove counts date from 2013.

How to cite this page

For a single figure, cite the original publisher named next to it, and link here if the verification trail is useful to your readers. Each figure has its own anchor, so you can link straight to it, for example https://www.markstudios.com/research/chimney-sweep-video-statistics#DRV-213. To cite the page as a whole:

Mark Studios. "Chimney Sweep Video Statistics." Last verified Nov 7, 2026. https://www.markstudios.com/research/chimney-sweep-video-statistics

@misc{markstudios_chimney_sweep_video_statistics_2026,
  author = {{Mark Studios}},
  title = {{Chimney Sweep Video Statistics}},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  url = {https://www.markstudios.com/research/chimney-sweep-video-statistics},
  note = {Last verified 2026-11-07}
}

Our calculations and the evidence table are free to reuse with attribution and a link to this page. Each underlying figure remains the claim of its original publisher, and some publishers ask for a link when their figures are reused.

Sources

Download the evidence table (CSV)

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2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, BLS Public Data API v2 (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, BLS Public Data API v2 (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table 1.2 Occupational projections, 2025-35, and worker characteristics, 2025 (2026-08-27). Accessed 2026-11-07.
5. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, BLS Public Data API v2 (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
6. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, BLS Public Data API v2 (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
7. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, BLS Public Data API v2 (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
8. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, BLS Public Data API v2 (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
9. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, BLS Public Data API v2 (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
10. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, BLS Public Data API v2 (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
11. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, BLS Public Data API v2 (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
12. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, BLS Public Data API v2 (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
13. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, BLS Public Data API v2 (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
14. U.S. Census Bureau (Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget), North American Industry Classification System, United States, 2022 (2022). Accessed 2026-11-07.
15. U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Census: Industry by Products Statistics for the U.S.: 2022 (Census Data API, dataset 2022/ecnnapcsind) (2025). Accessed 2026-11-07.
16. U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Census: Industry by Products Statistics for the U.S.: 2017 (Census Data API, dataset 2017/ecnnapcsind) (2020). Accessed 2026-11-07.
17. U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Integrated Economic Survey: All Sectors: Summary Statistics for Employer Firms in the U.S.: 2024 (Census Data API, dataset 2024/aiesbasic) (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
18. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages, industry data file (QCEW Open Data) (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
19. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2019 annual averages, industry data file (QCEW Open Data) (2020). Accessed 2026-11-07.
20. U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics: 2023 (Census Data API, dataset 2023/nonemp) (2025). Accessed 2026-11-07.
21. U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2023 (Census Data API, dataset 2023/cbp) (2025-06-26). Accessed 2026-11-07.
22. U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics: 2024 (Census Data API, dataset 2024/nonemp) (2026-03-13). Accessed 2026-11-07.
23. U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2023 (Census Data API, dataset 2023/cbp) (2025-06-26). Accessed 2026-11-07.
24. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages, industry data file (QCEW Open Data) (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
25. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2019 annual averages, industry data file (QCEW Open Data) (2020). Accessed 2026-11-07.
26. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Strategies for Reducing Residential Wood Smoke (EPA-456/B-13-001, revised March 2013) (2013-03). Accessed 2026-11-07.
27. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Table HC6.1 Space heating in U.S. homes, by housing unit type, 2020 (2023-03). Accessed 2026-11-07.
28. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Table HC1.1 Fuels used and end uses in U.S. homes, by housing unit type, 2020 (2023-03). Accessed 2026-11-07.
29. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-Year Estimates, Detailed Table B25040 House Heating Fuel (Census Data API) (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
30. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2010 1-Year Estimates, Detailed Table B25040 House Heating Fuel (Census Data API) (2011). Accessed 2026-11-07.
31. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Table HC6.1 Space heating in U.S. homes by housing unit type, 2015 (2018-05). Accessed 2026-11-07.
32. U.S. Census Bureau (Survey of Construction, sponsored by HUD), Characteristics of New Housing 2017 (annual tables), Number of Fireplaces in New Single-Family Houses Completed (2018). Accessed 2026-11-07.
33. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Highlights for fuels used in U.S. homes by state, 2020 (2023-03). Accessed 2026-11-07.
34. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Table HC6.8 Space heating in homes in the South and West regions, 2020 (2023-03). Accessed 2026-11-07.
35. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, Detailed Table B25040 House Heating Fuel (Census Data API) (2025). Accessed 2026-11-07.
36. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), How to Implement a Wood-Burning Appliance Changeout Program (September 15, 2014, updated links 2/2022) (2014-09-15). Accessed 2026-11-07.
37. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Burn Wise: Chimney Sweeps (2026-04-30). Accessed 2026-11-07.
38. U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA), Residential Building Heating Fire Trends (2014-2023) (2025-02-14). Accessed 2026-11-07.
39. U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA), Residential Building Fire Trends (2014-2023) (2025-02-14). Accessed 2026-11-07.
40. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Heating safety (NFPA home fire safety page) (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
41. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Heating safety (NFPA public education page, Internet Archive capture of 2019-01-05) (2019-01-05). Accessed 2026-11-07.
42. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Heating safety (NFPA public education page, Internet Archive capture of 2022-01-01) (2022-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-07.
43. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Heating safety (NFPA public education page, Internet Archive capture of 2023-11-01) (2023-11-01). Accessed 2026-11-07.
44. U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA), Heating Fires in Residential Buildings (2017-2019), Topical Fire Report Series Volume 21, Issue 10 (15-page PDF) (2021-12). Accessed 2026-11-07.
45. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2021-2023 Residential Fire Loss Estimates: U.S. National Estimates of Fires, Deaths, Injuries, and Property Loss from Unintentional Fires (2026-10). Accessed 2026-11-07.
46. U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA), Heating Fires in Residential Buildings (2017-2019), Topical Fire Report Series Volume 21, Issue 10 (2021-12). Accessed 2026-11-07.
47. U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA), Heating Fire Safety (2023-05-04). Accessed 2026-11-07.
48. U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA), Clothes Dryer Fires in Residential Buildings (2008-2010), Topical Fire Report Series Volume 13, Issue 7 (2012-08). Accessed 2026-11-07.
49. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), About Carbon Monoxide Poisoning (2026-01-12). Accessed 2026-11-07.
50. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MMWR, QuickStats: Number of Deaths Resulting from Unintentional Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, by Month and Year - National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2010-2015 (2017-03-03). Accessed 2026-11-07.
51. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Non-Fire Carbon Monoxide Deaths Associated with the Use of Consumer Products: 2022 Annual Estimates (2026-05). Accessed 2026-11-07.
52. U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA), Carbon Monoxide Safety (2026-09-21). Accessed 2026-11-07.
53. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, TABLE A-1. Fatal occupational injuries by industry and event or exposure, all United States, 2024 (2026-02-19). Accessed 2026-11-07.
54. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, TABLE 1. Incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by industry and case types, 2024 (2026-01-22). Accessed 2026-11-07.
55. Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), trade association, Industry Standard for Inspections Developed to Aid Homeowners (press release) (2000-03-15). Accessed 2026-11-07.
56. Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), trade association, Homeowner Resources (undated). Accessed 2026-11-07.
57. Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), trade association, Standard Operating Procedure: Level 2 Inspection, Masonry Chimney Attached to a Building Heating Appliance (2019-04-05). Accessed 2026-11-07.
58. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Technical Committee on Chimneys, Fireplaces, and Venting Systems, NFPA 211 Proposed TIA No. 1733 FINAL TC BALLOT RESULTS (memorandum to the Technical Committee) (2023-07-17). Accessed 2026-11-07.
59. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (eCFR, Office of the Federal Register), 40 CFR Part 60 Subpart AAA, Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood Heaters (2015-03-16). Accessed 2026-11-07.
60. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (eCFR, Office of the Federal Register), 40 CFR Part 60 Subpart QQQQ, Standards of Performance for New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced-Air Furnaces (2015-03-16). Accessed 2026-11-07.
61. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Federal Register), Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood Heaters, New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced-Air Furnaces (final rule, 80 FR 13672) (2015-03-16). Accessed 2026-11-07.
62. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Federal Register), Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood Heaters, New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced-Air Furnaces (proposed rule, 83 FR 61574) (2018-11-30). Accessed 2026-11-07.
63. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Federal Register), Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood Heaters, New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced-Air Furnaces (final rule, 85 FR 18448) (2020-04-02). Accessed 2026-11-07.
64. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Federal Register), Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood Heaters, New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced-Air Furnaces (proposed rule, 85 FR 31124) (2020-05-22). Accessed 2026-11-07.
65. The Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine, 2026 Florida Statutes), The 2026 Florida Statutes, 553.885 Carbon monoxide alarm required (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
66. The Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine, 2026 Florida Statutes), The 2026 Florida Statutes, 489.113 Qualifications for practice; restrictions (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
67. The Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine, 2026 Florida Statutes), The 2026 Florida Statutes, 489.103 Exemptions (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
68. The Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine, 2026 Florida Statutes), The 2026 Florida Statutes, 489.117 Registration; specialty contractors (2026). Accessed 2026-11-07.
69. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (eCFR, Office of the Federal Register), 29 CFR 1910.28 Duty to have fall protection and falling object protection (2026-11-05). Accessed 2026-11-07.
70. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (eCFR, Office of the Federal Register), 29 CFR 1926.501 Duty to have fall protection (2026-11-05). Accessed 2026-11-07.
71. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (eCFR, Office of the Federal Register), 29 CFR 1910.12 Construction work (2026-11-05). Accessed 2026-11-07.
72. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (eCFR, Office of the Federal Register), 29 CFR 1926.500 Scope, application, and definitions applicable to this subpart (2026-11-05). Accessed 2026-11-07.
73. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (eCFR, Office of the Federal Register), 29 CFR 1910.21 Scope and definitions (2026-11-05). Accessed 2026-11-07.
74. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (eCFR, Office of the Federal Register), 29 CFR 1910.23 Ladders (2026-11-05). Accessed 2026-11-07.
75. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Chimney platforms and space between the scaffold working edge and the structure (standard interpretation) (1994-05-25). Accessed 2026-11-07.
76. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Application of OSHA's de minimis policy ... regarding certain chimney construction work (standard interpretation) (2009-08-24). Accessed 2026-11-07.
77. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (eCFR, Office of the Federal Register), 24 CFR 3280.709 Installation of appliances (2026-11-05). Accessed 2026-11-07.
78. Midtown Chimney Sweeps Franchising, LLC (franchise disclosure document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Midtown Chimney Sweeps Franchising, LLC Franchise Disclosure Document, Clean FDD 2026, Minnesota CARDS file 10827 (document 37040-202607-09) (2026-07-17). Accessed 2026-11-07.
79. Midtown Chimney Sweeps Franchising, LLC (franchise disclosure document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Midtown Chimney Sweeps Franchising, LLC Franchise Disclosure Document, Clean FDD 2024, Minnesota CARDS file 10827 (document 31955-202406-09) (2024-06-21). Accessed 2026-11-07.
80. Dryer Vent Wizard SPV LLC (Dryer Vent Wizard, a Neighborly brand; franchise disclosure document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Dryer Vent Wizard SPV LLC Franchise Disclosure Document, Clean FDD 2026, Minnesota CARDS file 9598 (document 36172-202604-02) (2026-04-23). Accessed 2026-11-07.
81. Mr. Duct Cleaner Franchise Systems, Inc. (franchise disclosure document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Mr. Duct Cleaner Franchise Systems, Inc. Franchise Disclosure Document, Clean FDD 2026, Minnesota CARDS file 11418 (document 36498-202605-11) (2026-05-01). Accessed 2026-11-07.
82. Dryer Vent Superheroes Franchising LLC (franchise disclosure document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Dryer Vent Superheroes Franchising LLC Franchise Disclosure Document, 2026 FDD, Marked FDD filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, CARDS file 11249 (filing 35525, document 35525-202603-06) (2026-03-17). Accessed 2026-11-07.
83. DVS Holdings, Inc (Dryer Vent Squad; franchise disclosure document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), DVS Holdings, Inc (Dryer Vent Squad) Franchise Disclosure Document, Clean FDD 2024, Minnesota CARDS file 11305 (document 31772-202405-02) (2024-05-31). Accessed 2026-11-07.
84. HNI Corporation (SEC Form 10-K), HNI Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2026 (2026-03-03). Accessed 2026-11-07.
85. HNI Corporation (SEC Form 10-K), HNI Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2019 (2020-02-25). Accessed 2026-11-07.
86. HNI Corporation (SEC Form 10-K), HNI Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2021 (2021-03-02). Accessed 2026-11-07.
87. HNI Corporation (SEC Form 10-K), HNI Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 (2023-02-28). Accessed 2026-11-07.
88. HNI Corporation (SEC Form 10-K), HNI Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2023 (2024-02-27). Accessed 2026-11-07.
89. Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), Why hire a CSIA Professional? (2026-02-12). Accessed 2026-11-07.
90. Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), CSIA National Training Academy (undated). Accessed 2026-11-07.
91. Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), CCS 1-day review and exam (undated). Accessed 2026-11-07.
92. Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), Becoming a Certified Chimney Sweep (undated). Accessed 2026-11-07.
93. Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), CSIA Certifications (undated). Accessed 2026-11-07.
94. Angi, How Much Does a Chimney Sweep Cost? [2026 Data] (2026-10-22). Accessed 2026-11-07.
95. Fixr, Chimney Cleaning Cost (2025-01-31). Accessed 2026-11-07.
96. HomeGuide, How Much Does a Chimney Sweep Cost? (2026) (2026-02-09). Accessed 2026-11-07.
97. Thumbtack, 2026 Chimney Sweep Cost | Fireplace & Chimney Cleaning Prices (2026-03-31). Accessed 2026-11-07.
98. Jobber, How Much to Charge for Chimney Cleaning (2025-07-23). Accessed 2026-11-07.
99. HomeGuide, How Much Does a Chimney Inspection Cost? (2026) (2026-02-09). Accessed 2026-11-07.
100. Fixr, Chimney Inspection Cost (2025-08-29). Accessed 2026-11-07.
101. Angi, How Much Does a Chimney Inspection Cost? [2026 Data] (2026-10-19). Accessed 2026-11-07.
102. Thumbtack, 2026 Chimney Inspection Cost Page (2026-07-08). Accessed 2026-11-07.
103. Angi, Everything You Need to Know About Chimney Video Inspections (2026-08-04). Accessed 2026-11-07.
104. Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), What You need to know after a chimney fire (undated). Accessed 2026-11-07.
105. Angi, How Much Does Dryer Vent Cleaning Cost? [2026 Data] (2026-10-14). Accessed 2026-11-07.
106. Fixr, Dryer Vent Cleaning Cost | Dryer Duct Cleaning Cost (2025-01-31). Accessed 2026-11-07.
107. Thumbtack, 2026 Dryer Vent Cleaning Cost (2026-07-08). Accessed 2026-11-07.
108. HomeGuide, Dryer Vent Cleaning Cost (2024-04-29). Accessed 2026-11-07.
109. HomeGuide, Chimney Cap Cost (2026-02-09). Accessed 2026-11-07.
110. Fixr, Chimney Cap Replacement Cost (2025-08-29). Accessed 2026-11-07.
111. Angi, How Much Does It Cost to Install a Chimney Liner? [2026 Data] (2026-09-21). Accessed 2026-11-07.
112. Fixr, Chimney Liner Installation Cost (2025-01-31). Accessed 2026-11-07.
113. HomeGuide, Chimney Liner Cost (2026-02-09). Accessed 2026-11-07.
114. Google, Getting started with Local Services Ads - United States (undated). Accessed 2026-11-07.
115. ServiceTitan, Chimney Sweep Marketing (2025-12-19). Accessed 2026-11-07.
116. Bob Vila (home-improvement publisher; affiliate seller; repeater), Chimney Fires: How to Prevent Them and What to Do (2017-10-11 (modified 2026-11-05)). Accessed 2026-11-07.
117. Houzeo (real-estate listing platform; repeater), Why Should You Get a Chimney Inspection Done? (2024-07-01 (modified 2025-07-21; page says published Nov 07, 2022)). Accessed 2026-11-07.
118. Kitsap Daily News (newspaper; repeater), Fire officials remind residents to keep chimneys clean (2011-11-16). Accessed 2026-11-07.
119. MarketersMedia (paid press-release wire; repeater), An Average Of 25,100 Fire Was Caused By Fireplaces And Chimneys (2017-11-14). Accessed 2026-11-07.
120. Chimney Safety Institute of America, reproducing U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates, Statistics - Chimney Fires & Carbon Monoxide (CPSC Heating Equipment Estimates 2003-2005) (2008-09 (statistics 'as of 9/1/08')). Accessed 2026-11-07.
121. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2004-2006 Residential Fire Loss Estimates (October 2009) (2009-10). Accessed 2026-11-07.
122. Chimney Safety Institute of America (association; PR Newswire release), National Chimney Safety Week Set for Sept 30 - Oct 6 (2018-09-24). Accessed 2026-11-07.
123. Chimney Safety Institute of America (association; PR Newswire release), Don't Give Cold Shoulder to Your Chimney if U.S. Experiences Another Winter Wallop in 2014-15 (2014-09-19). Accessed 2026-11-07.
124. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Revised Residential Fire Loss Estimates 1980-1998 (2002-07 (PDF creation date)). Accessed 2026-11-07.
125. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 1998 Residential Fire Loss Estimates (2001-03). Accessed 2026-11-07.
126. Hearth.com forum post (user elkimmeg; repeater), Is 140,000 Wodstove fires to many? (2005-11-22). Accessed 2026-11-07.
127. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Consumer Safety Alert (Release 83-019) (1983-04-14). Accessed 2026-11-07.
128. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Chimneys: Safety Alert (CPSC Document 5017) (1983 (document; capture 1999-10-10)). Accessed 2026-11-07.
129. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (Federal Register), Federal Register, May 16, 1983 (CPSC, coal and wood burning appliances) (1983-05-16). Accessed 2026-11-07.
130. Black Goose Chimney (chimney sweep company; seller; repeater), Creosote - Part 2 (2014-03-13). Accessed 2026-11-07.
131. HomeGrail (home-services information and lead site; repeater), Chimney Fire Statistics (2022-01-27 (modified 2026-01-09)). Accessed 2026-11-07.
132. Pine Mountain (firelog maker; sells creosote-treatment logs; PR Newswire release), Pine Mountain Chimney Fires Fact Sheet (2013-12-19). Accessed 2026-11-07.
133. Clean Sweeps of Michigan (chimney sweep company; seller; repeater), Clean Sweeps of Michigan blog, January 2012 (2012-01-17). Accessed 2026-11-07.
134. Wood-Fired Heating and Cooking (Blogspot blog; repeater), Avoidable Chimney Fires Account For... (2020-01). Accessed 2026-11-07.
135. EyeView Digital (video production and testing vendor; sold the videos it tested), EyeView - The new "Conversion" game (2008-12-04). Accessed 2026-11-07.
136. EyeView Digital (video production and testing vendor; sold the videos it tested), UMOO - a prime beef example of EyeView's success (2009-02-10). Accessed 2026-11-07.
137. EyeView Digital (video production and testing vendor; sold the videos it tested), Another video conversion success story (2009-11-10). Accessed 2026-11-07.
138. EyeView Digital (video production and testing vendor; sold the videos it tested), Making Video Accountable (EyeView white paper) (2010). Accessed 2026-11-07.
139. Unbounce (landing-page software seller), The benefits of using video on landing pages (2010-08). Accessed 2026-11-07.
140. WordStream (PPC advertising software seller), 6 Ways to Use Video to Increase Conversion Rates (2016-03-30). Accessed 2026-11-07.
141. REsimpli (real estate investor CRM software seller), 55+ Real Estate Video Stats (2025-02-06 (modified 2026-06-10)). Accessed 2026-11-07.
142. Webtonic (web design and marketing agency; sells to home-services trades), Electrical Services Video Marketing Statistics (2026-07-22). Accessed 2026-11-07.
143. Unbounce (landing-page software seller; analysis of its own customers' pages), Video on landing pages means more conversions, right? Wrong. Here's why (2021-08-26). Accessed 2026-11-07.
144. National Park Service (Structural Fire Training Specialist Eric Anderson; repeater), Fire Prevention 52: Dryer Fires (Not stated). Accessed 2026-11-07.
145. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Overheated Clothes Dryers Can Cause Fires: Safety Alert (CPSC Document 5022) (Undated (capture 2001-01-24)). Accessed 2026-11-07.
146. Chimney Safety Institute of America (association), CSIA - Chimney Fire Information - Prevention - What To Do (1996 (capture 1996-11-01)). Accessed 2026-11-07.
147. Chimney Safety Institute of America (association), Preventing Chimney Fires (Not stated (first captured 2026-04-02)). Accessed 2026-11-07.
148. Chimney Safety Institute of America (association), The Facts About Chimney Fires (2012 (capture 2012-04-14)). Accessed 2026-11-07.

Update policy and change log

We re-verify every figure quarterly and when a major source publishes a new edition. The next scheduled review is February 2027. Corrections go to contact@markstudios.com.

• Nov 7, 2026: First published with 501 figures from 41 publishers, each checked against its original source.