Cleaning the White House chimneys cannot be a simple job, with thirty-five of them to keep in pristine condition. Not the average house, but completely typical in respect of fireplace safety measures, its chimneys too have to remain ready for safe use. Anyone could wonder what the chimney sweep who decided to take them on for free was thinking! — if they were not certified.
All certified chimney sweeps want to protect the safety of families and homes, regardless of their national importance. One sweep takes it a step further, doing his part to whittle away at the national debt by doing the job for free. Volunteering for the job since 1993, he sees it as his civic and professional duty to keep the White House chimneys free of creosote.
Having started the tradition of volunteer service for the White House chimneys, it seems likely to continue. Whenever Jeff Schmittinger steps down from its roofs, another certified sweep will undoubtedly step up to fill his shoes. Practical, productive, and patriotic, the voluntary cleaning of the White House chimneys seems absolutely certain to be carried on by his ‘brothers’.
Luck Isn’t In the Equation
When homeowners first learn of this great response to a Presidential call for balanced budgets, they tend to feel both lucky and unlucky. They feel lucky to live in this kind of country and unlucky when they think of the condition of their chimneys. They are happy to have a lot fewer chimneys but know they are unlikely to get a professional chimney sweep’s service for free.
Luck, though, should have nothing to do with it; it was not by luck that Schmittinger emerged to do his part to help his country. Trained and educated for years for the task, his natural inclination as a certified sweep is to put it all to the best possible use. It is up to you to be sure it is not just by luck that someone like him is cleaning and inspecting your chimneys.