TIL that nearly a third of home fires tied to heating are from chimneys nobody had swept, and I get why some folks skip it

Riley Schmidt · 2026-10-11T10:05:04.033798+00:00

I was reading the NFPA heating fire report from 2023 out of curiosity and it said creosote buildup causes around 25,000 chimney fires a year in the US. I keep hearing sweeps push yearly cleanings like it's a law, but the report shows most of those fires happen in homes that hadn't been swept in 3 or more years, so the yearly thing feels like overkill for someone burning dry wood and only firing the stove a few times a season. I mean I still tell customers once a year is safest, but I've stopped acting like skipping a season is reckless. If someone runs an open fireplace six times a winter with seasoned wood, is a two year gap really the danger folks make it out to be?

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TIL that nearly a third of home fires tied to heating are from chimneys nobody had swept, and I get why some folks skip it | Chimney Sweeps - SMM Buzz