Questions and answers about chimney sweeping and fire safety inspection

Fireplaces and their flues have been swept for as long as we have burned fuel for heating and cooking. As early as the 17th century, sweeping was required by law in towns because of the risk of fire.

The current Civil Protection Act says that each property owner has overall responsibility for fire safety in their property, including a duty to have flues and fireplaces cleaned of deposits that could cause a fire. The municipality is obliged to make sure this is done, and is also entitled to charge a fee for it.

The municipality, through its rescue services committee or similar, is responsible for setting regulations on sweeping. These state how often different types of fireplace must be swept, also depending on how they are used, along with other rules on the sweeping and cleaning of flues and kitchen extract ducts. The regulations are legally binding and have the same force as law.

Under the Civil Protection Act, the municipality has the right to decide the fees charged for sweeping and for cleaning kitchen extract ducts. This is known as the sweeping rate, and it is a fixed fee in the same way as other charges for municipal services.

Each municipality has one company with the exclusive right to carry out sweeping and cleaning. In a few cases this is run by the municipality itself, but in most municipalities the company is chosen through public procurement. That company is obliged to sweep every fireplace in the municipality.

Property owners can now be granted an exemption from the obligation to have this company sweep their property. The exemption is given to the property owner personally, after an application to the municipality’s rescue service.

Contact your municipality and the committee responsible (the rescue services committee) and ask for an exemption application. They will give you the information you need. Until your exemption is granted, the municipality’s contractor will continue to sweep your property.

When assessing the application, the municipality should consider how complex the combustion installation is, the level of risk, the applicant’s knowledge and the general conditions for the task. The assessment should cover whether the whole installation can be swept, and the person who will do the sweeping should show that they have the necessary knowledge of sweeping and fire safety.

When a property owner applies to sweep the property they live in themselves, the municipality should take particular account of the fact that the owner normally has some knowledge of how the installation is built and works, and has a personal interest in the sweeping being done in a way that gives good fire safety.

Yes, the municipality can refuse. If it does, you can appeal the decision to the County Administrative Board.

Yes. The Civil Protection Act contains a specific provision giving the sweep the right of access to every fireplace in the municipality. As a property owner you are also obliged to make sure sweeping is done on time, and before you use a fireplace you must be sure it is not subject to a prohibition of use.

A notification is a reminder that it is time to have your fireplace swept, so that it does not go past its set interval. It is also a proposed day and time when the sweep will be nearby and has time set aside for your property. By accepting the day and time, you get the sweeping done at a lower price than if the sweep had to come out for your property alone.

Please note: if the time does not suit you, you must always tell the sweep — otherwise you will have to pay the call-out fee.

Yes. Contact the sweep and say that you have not used it, and the fireplace will be marked as not in use. It then becomes your responsibility to make sure it is not a fire hazard if you want to use it again, and you must contact the sweep to say you are bringing it back into use.

Generally, yes. Burning any organic material can leave deposits in the chimney that could lead to a chimney fire. How likely that is depends on how the installation is looked after and maintained, how the fire is lit and tended, and how the flues are built.

The price in the sweeping rates assumes that the sweep works through the houses in order, so that sweeping is as cost-effective as possible. If the sweep has to break that schedule, it creates an extra cost that is charged to the property owner. It also means more administration — rewriting work lists and finding other work to fill the gap left on the day the sweep was due to visit you.

Yes, anything is possible. If the notified day or time doesn’t suit and you choose another, the sweep may have to make a special trip to your property, which adds costs — and those are what you are invoiced for. You then pay for the working time and the distance driven to get there, do the work and return. That means you are charged the higher price in the sweeping rates, in other words the actual cost: travel to and from the property, the time taken to sweep the fireplaces, mileage and travel time.

Just show the sweep where the ladder is and they will get it out themselves. It may cost a little extra if the ladder is kept a long way from where it is needed.

That’s fine. Leave the key somewhere or with a neighbour, then tell the sweeping office where it is. There should also be clear access to the boiler, and it helps to put newspapers down where the sweep will walk and to protect any furniture close to the fireplace.

The basic fee is the starting cost charged to every property owner, regardless of the work done in the house. It covers the administrative work done at the office, and an average of the time it takes the sweep to travel between jobs during the day.

The property owner is always responsible for fire safety in the property (Civil Protection Act, chapter 2, section 2). If the tenant — the restaurant — does not pay for the cleaning or otherwise fails to meet its obligations, we turn to the property owner.