As temperatures climb in Colorado, more people are headed indoors to beat the heat. HVAC companies in the Denver metro area are inundated with calls again this summer, after years of struggling to complete requests.

CBS

 At the height of the pandemic, shortages of materials used to construct HVAC equipment delayed repair appointments nationwide. Those disruptions in the HVAC — or heating, ventilation and air conditioning — industry are still felt as temperatures begin to rise again.

Carlos and Miguel Valdivia run MC Mechanical HVAC services. The heat wave is keeping the brothers busy.

“Sometimes we get like 50 calls a day. Sometimes in the same hour. No one wants to wait,” said Carlos.

This week they’re installing an HVAC system in a new build. As temps get hotter, they said their priority will be repairs on homes with families already inside.

“We try to do the best we can. When we get emergency calls, we’ll stop and move on and take care of those customers. There’s a lot of people that got kids in the house. We want to make sure we take care of those people first,” said Miguel.

CBS News Colorado’s Tori Mason interviews Miguel Valdivia.

CBS

Supplies needed for residential repairs are more plentiful than last year, but Carlos says regular product availability for larger repairs still aren’t back to normal.

“The commercial rooftop units we ordered last year aren’t supposed to arrive for another two months,” Carlos.

Terry Hartzell at Hartzell Heating and Air Conditioning says many customers are finally getting relief after the supply shortages of summers past.

Terry Hartzell  

CBS

“That affected people pretty hard last year, and the year before for that, and people have had to wait till this year to actually address it,” said Hartzell. “The people that have addressed it before this week are grateful that they did.”

As the heat wave progresses, waits for service calls will get longer. He says preventative maintenance could save residents a lot of headaches in the future.

“Change your filter and make sure your filter is appropriate for your system. Clean out the outdoor unit. If you live by cottonwood trees, take a garden hose to it and rinse it off. Your system will be able to reject heat a lot better,” said Hartzell.

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles envisions more explosive plays from a revamped offense and…

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles envisions more explosive plays from a revamped offense and a retooled defense creating turnovers more often.

A busy offseason has him thinking his team is positioned to make a jump. Considering the Bears finished with the worst record in the NFL last year, there seems to be nowhere to go but up.

“I really believe this team is set up to elevate and really go to the next level, which we’re all excited for,” Poles said Wednesday.

The Bears made some big moves after going 3-14 and setting a franchise record for losses, with Poles estimating they filled 75% to 80% of their holes. They’ll start to find out if the changes paid off when they open the season at Green Bay on Sept. 10.

The Bears swung a major trade for a playmaking receiver when they dealt the No. 1 overall draft pick to Carolina for DJ Moore and a package of draft picks. They added to their offensive line by drafting tackle Darnell Wright with the No. 10 overall pick and signing guard Nate Davis. They also brought in help for their defense, signing two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, linebacker T.J. Edwards and veteran edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue.

“At the end of the day, like when the lights come on and we play a real game, the energy levels differ, the speed is different,” Poles said. “We’ll be able to evaluate that as we go through the season. But I feel good again. Just on paper, I feel good about the progress and I feel we took a chunk out of what we needed to.”

The Bears are counting on Justin Fields to improve as a passer in his third season after he dazzled with his legs last year. The former Ohio State star threw for just 2,242 yards and was sacked 55 times, tying Russell Wilson for the most in the league.

“Obviously we need to see that number change,” Poles said. “It’s a relationship, right? Where protection’s gotta be better, and I feel better about our setup in terms of the guys in front of him, and the tackles, with Braxton going into Year 2. Darnell’s doing a good job. That alone should help us. And then Justin’s ability to execute our offense more efficiently and get the ball out quicker too. All of that should run together and that number should drop.”

The Bears figure to be down one key blocker to start the season. Poles said left guard Teven Jenkins (leg) will open on injured reserve with a designation to return, meaning he will miss at least the first four games.

Chicago is also thin behind Fields. The team’s only other quarterback is rookie Tyson Bagent, who went undrafted after a record-setting career at Division II Shepherd University.

“He’s got this moxie, he has this confidence about him,” assistant general manager Ian Cunningham said.

Whether Bagent will be the No. 2 QB for the season opener or the Bears add a veteran remains to be seen.

“It’s hard to answer that question right now,” Poles said.

Poles had no update on contract extension talks with receiver Darnell Mooney and cornerback Jaylon Johnson, saying “We’re taking that kind of week by week.”

“I really don’t want to get into it,” he added. “It kind of creates a distraction for the entire year. We like those guys. We’d love to have them here long-term, so we’ll just kind of stick with our plan.”

He smirked and — unprompted — said he “never thought about or had any conversations about trading Mooney.” He also insisted defensive end Trevis Gipson never requested a trade before the Bears waived him on Tuesday. Gipson, who had seven sacks in 2021, ultimately lost out in a roster battle to Dominique Robinson and Terrell Lewis behind starters Ngakoue and DeMarcus Walker and backup Rasheem Green.

The Bears added veteran Trent Taylor on Wednesday to be their punt returner, with Velus Jones Jr. struggling in the preseason following a rough rookie season. Taylor spent the past two years with Cincinnati after playing from 2017 to 2020 for San Francisco, where he worked with Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower.

“Consistency,” Poles said. “That’s the biggest thing. You know, when the ball gets punted you can go grab a snack and go to the bathroom and come back and you feel confident about it. That’s the big part.”

___

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Travelers line up to check in for United Airlines flights at San Francisco International Airport on July 1, 2022 in San Francisco, Calif. This summer is expected to be a record for air travel.

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Travelers line up to check in for United Airlines flights at San Francisco International Airport on July 1, 2022 in San Francisco, Calif. This summer is expected to be a record for air travel.

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Memorial Day weekend is upon us, kicking off the busy summer vacation season, and airlines are forecasting that this could be their busiest summer ever. Industry projections indicate that despite relatively high airfares, U.S. airlines could carry a record number of passengers this summer, even though they’re still operating fewer flights than before the pandemic.

The coming months are likely to be a “stress test” for a national aviation system plagued by recent staffing shortages, antiquated technology, air traffic control problems, scheduling issues and labor disputes.

After widespread flight delays and cancellations last year, consumer advocates and some within the travel industry worry air travelers could face similar disruptions that will mess up their summer travel plans again.

If you’re among those hoping to jet off to somewhere fun this summer, here’s what you can expect.

Long lines and packed planes starting this weekend

Travelers line up to get into the security checkpoint at Chicago’s O’Hare airport last summer.

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Travelers line up to get into the security checkpoint at Chicago’s O’Hare airport last summer.

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“This summer’s travel demand will be as strong as we’ve seen since before the pandemic and potentially the strongest ever,” says Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, which represents airlines, hotels and other travel-related businesses.

The crush of travelers starts Memorial Day weekend, with AAA forecasting that about 3.4 million Americans will be flying this Thursday through Monday.

Including the numbers of commercial airline flights and those on smaller general aviation aircraft, there will be more than 313,000 flights over the seven-day holiday period from May 24 to May 30, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. While that is just below pre-pandemic 2019 levels, the airlines may actually be flying more people by using bigger planes than they normally would on many routes.

The FAA projects that this Thursday will be the busiest day of the Memorial Day weekend, with more than 51,000 flights forecast.

Among the commercial airlines, United is predicting this Memorial Day weekend will be its busiest in more than a decade. Delta expects a whopping 17% increase in passengers from last year.

“The airports are packed,” says Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer of the Airlines Reporting Corp., which processes and tracks airline ticket sales. “So travelers should prepare to get to the airport early, allow adequate time to get through security screening, through the TSA, and expect to see a lot of people on really full planes.”

Solomon says Europe is especially popular this summer, with huge increases in the number of airline tickets purchased for the top ten destinations across the Atlantic, even though prices are up significantly.

“Summer 2022 was pretty rocky”

People travel through the terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport at the start of the Memorial Day weekend on May 27, 2022 in New York City. This coming Memorial Day is the start of a busy summer air travel season.

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People travel through the terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport at the start of the Memorial Day weekend on May 27, 2022 in New York City. This coming Memorial Day is the start of a busy summer air travel season.

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If last summer is any indication, air travelers might be in for some turbulence before they get off the ground this summer.

“Things were very bad for air travelers last year. They were as bad as they’ve been in 25 years or more,” says Andre Delattre, national program director for PIRG, the Public Interest Research Group. The consumer advocacy group analyzed airline passenger complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“There were five times more complaints in 2022 compared to 2019 before the pandemic, even though fewer people were flying,” he says.

Airlines delayed and canceled a staggering number of flights last year — more than 210,000 were canceled, according to the flight tracking firm FlightAware. “Other than the early months of the pandemic, that’s more canceled flights than any year since 2001, when, of course, 9/11 disrupted air travel,” Delattre says.

A recent Government Accountability Office investigation found that the sharp increase in airline flight disruptions in recent years was largely caused by factors within the airlines’ control, including maintenance issues, technology glitches and staffing problems.

Even though taxpayers shelled out $50 billion to keep airlines in business and pilots, flight attendants and other employees on the payrolls during the pandemic, airlines offered early retirements and other incentives for workers, including experienced flight crews and ground crews, to leave.

Then air travel demand returned much more quickly than airlines expected. Many tried to cash in with aggressive scheduling, but the staff was stretched too thin to meet that demand, especially during severe weather, which led flight crews to time out without fresh crew members to replace them. With planes and flight crews out of place and too few replacements available, it would take some airlines a week or more to get caught up from one series of thunderstorms.

Add to that a new pilot training backlog, and shortages of mechanics, maintenance workers, gate agents and customer service staff, along with technology glitches and outdated scheduling software at some airlines, and it all cascaded into several periods over the last year in which hundreds of thousands of would be travelers were stranded, the worst of which was over the Christmas holiday, when Southwest alone had to cancel 17,000 flights.

Airlines say they’re better prepared now

Travelers line up to check in for United Airlines flights at Newark Liberty International Airport on July 1, 2022 in Newark, N.J. Experts are predicting heavy travel this summer.

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Travelers line up to check in for United Airlines flights at Newark Liberty International Airport on July 1, 2022 in Newark, N.J. Experts are predicting heavy travel this summer.

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American and its rival airlines all say they’re much better prepared for this summer than last. They’ve all gone on a hiring spree, with passenger airlines adding nearly 4,500 employees just in March alone.

The industry now employs more than 486,000 workers in the U.S., nearly 10% more than they had before the pandemic.

Most airlines handled the recent surge in spring break travelers relatively well, and the cancellation rate so far this year is down significantly from last year. According to the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics, airlines canceled 1.7% of flights over the first three months of this year, far lower than the 2.7% flight cancellation rate for all of last year, and 4.1% for the first quarter of 2022.

“We are as prepared as we can possibly be,” says Nick Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for America, the lobbying group representing the nation’s biggest air carriers. “We’ve got a lot more employees. We have reduced our schedules and adjusted how we’re flying,” in an effort to minimize flight disruptions.

But many industry experts warn travelers to be prepared for significant flight delays and cancellations anyway, caused by things outside of the airlines’ control.

The FAA’s air traffic control issues

An American Airlines Airbus A319 airplane takes off past the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., in January.

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An American Airlines Airbus A319 airplane takes off past the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., in January.

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While the Biden administration is turning up the heat on the airlines to fulfill their obligations to passengers, the airlines are growing frustrated with the federal government’s own aviation shortcomings.

The FAA warns that a significant shortage of air traffic controllers overseeing the very congested New York area airspace could increase flight delays into and out of Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports by 45% this summer.

In addition, the chronically underfunded FAA is also struggling to replace outdated technology. The failure of a pilot notification system in January led the FAA to briefly halt all flight departures nationwide, causing thousands of flight delays and cancellations that day.

Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection staffing shortages in many airports has led to hourslong waits for international travelers returning to the U.S. to get through customs.

Geoff Freeman of U.S. Travel puts the blame for many of these problems not on the airlines, but on Congress and the federal government.

“These problems have come out of years and years of underinvestment,” Freeman says. “If the government doesn’t act now, the headaches won’t just happen during peak travel season and holidays, it will become our daily reality.”

Summer air travel tips

A man pushes his bags at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on May 27, 2021 in Los Angeles as people travel for Memorial Day weekend. The Department of Transportation has a website to assist travelers with knowing their rights.

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A man pushes his bags at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on May 27, 2021 in Los Angeles as people travel for Memorial Day weekend. The Department of Transportation has a website to assist travelers with knowing their rights.

Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Airline passengers who run into problems from flight disruptions to lost luggage this summer can find out more about their rights and the airlines’ responsibilities at the Department of Transportation’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. The site also links to a dashboard listing which airlines are willing to pay for meals, ground transportation, hotels and other expenses incurred because of significant delays and cancellations that are the airline’s fault. It also link to a site where consumers can file complaints.

Experts recommend booking flights earlier in the day as storms tend to develop later in the afternoon and evening. It’s also a good idea to check the weather forecast for your destination and any cities where you have a layover. The FAA has a site showing where severe weather may cause problems for air travelers each day.

Use the airline’s app to track not just whether your flight is on time, but where the plane is coming from and if there are delays there. Book nonstop flights, if possible, so you don’t get stranded on a layover.

Travelers who are checking luggage should also be sure to pack an extra change of clothes or two and medications and other necessities in their carry-on bag, in case there’s a significant delay or cancellation after you’ve checked in.

The bottom line for those of us flying this summer is to plan ahead, prepare for the worst — and hope for the best.

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SAN FRANCISCO — New bike lanes are planned to emerge in one of San Francisco’s busiest corridors, but instead of traditional bike lanes to the right of traffic, these lanes will run right down the middle of Valencia Street in the city’s Mission District.

The new bike lanes will begin at the intersection of 15th Street and Valencia and extend eight blocks south to Valencia and 23rd. This is a pilot program that will last at least a year.

The city believes moving bike lanes to the middle of the street will improve safety by helping cyclists avoid any cars and trucks that stop to load and unload on that stretch of street. However, many cyclists fear the lanes will create new safety issues.

This reporter spoke to a local cyclist about what she thought of the project. Caetie Ofiesh has been cycling around San Francisco since she moved here 10 years ago.

“I use this bike to get to the grocery store, to work, to wherever I go, to restaurants, almost every day,” Ofiesh said, adding that she loves how convenient cycling is, not to mention that it’s just fun too.

“Sometimes, especially when I’m on my way home from work, that’s the best part of the day,” she said.

But San Francisco is a busy city. cars, buses, trams and pedestrians; They all have to share the road with cyclists, which can cause some problems.

“I avoid something almost every day,” Ofiesh said. “I’ve been hit by a car before. Luckily only once.”

For years, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has tried to find creative solutions to keep everyone on the streets safe.

In April, the SFMTA approved a new pilot project that will move the Valencia Street bike lanes from the curb to the middle for eight blocks.

“If we just look across the street from here. Instead of the bike lane I’m currently standing on, which in turn is often full of double-parked cars, the bike lane will be where the bus is currently parked,” said SFMTA Streets director Tom Maguire.

He says the project will not only help cyclists but also pedestrians, as cars will no longer be allowed to turn left after the bike lanes join the centre.

“It’s going to get cyclists away from parked cars and ban left turns so we protect pedestrians from those turning vehicles,” Maguire said.

But not everyone is convinced the plan is a good idea. Ofiesh said she and many of her cyclist friends had concerns.

“You know at the intersections, if a car has to turn left or a cyclist has to turn right, what does that traffic sequence look like and is everyone prepared at each and every intersection?” said Ofiesh. “The other thing I worry about with the middle bike lanes is that cyclists clash without much margin for error and you know we’re not locked in steel boxes, we’re just on our bikes.”

Maguire says he just hopes everyone gives the project a shot.

“We’re committed to going back to our board and coming back to the public with a lot of transparency and robust data on what’s working and what’s not working,” Maguire said. “We would not be proposing this unless we felt it would represent a significant improvement in safety over the way the road looks today.”

Ofiesh says she understands SFMTA is trying and despite her concerns she will still try the new lanes once they are built.

“I’d like to be wrong. I’d love for this to work and be an improved experience for everyone, but I’ll definitely be careful,” Ofiesh said.

The city says construction on the project is expected to begin in late April, with lanes due to open to cyclists in mid-May.

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Metro Atlanta residents are dealing with water pipes freezing and bursting.

The issue is impacting everyone, from homes to high-rises.

Many plumbing companies are working non-stop, responding to situation after situation.

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“These exterior walls are the ones that’s going to get the coldest. So as you can see right here, you got a busted pipe,” Adrian Gonzalez with Roto-Rooter told Channel 2 Action News’ Larry Spruill.

This is just one of the situations that Gonzalez said his crews have been dealing with.

“As you can see, the ceiling just collapsed,” said Gonzalez.

The recent sub-freezing temperatures have been causing a lot of issues around the metro area when it comes to pipes.

“Oh my gosh, I would say Friday night is when everything started to kick off. Saturday and especially, yesterday on Christmas, it’s been crazy busy,” Gonzalez said.

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Channel 2 has reported on broken pipes across the metro Atlanta area over the last couple of days, from Fairburn to Downtown Atlanta, where many apartments and businesses flooded.

“We’ve had busted pipes, everywhere. I’ve been doing this for about 20 years, I’ve been working here in Atlanta for 12 years and I’ve never seen it like this before,” Gonzalez said.

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Gonzalez said there are ways you can prevent this from happening.

“One of the most common ways, and it’s really simple, is if you leave your faucets dripping overnight, so that you can have some water constantly flowing through the pipes,” Gonzalez said. “They also sell these covers that you put on the outside spigots to protect the spigots from freezing up.”

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Life in Lagos, Nigeria’s trading city, is not for the faint of heart. The city with around 14 million inhabitants is the largest in sub-Saharan Africa.

And due to traffic jams and long hours, most busy professionals find it difficult to cope with everyday tasks like cooking or cleaning the house.

Although restaurants and household cleaning companies offer options for people who want to outsource these tasks, the market is still open to providers who can offer more convenience and quality.

Eden life, strategically Positioning itself as the premier platform for home service needs has raised a $ 1.4 million seed round to increase its market share.

LocalGlobe, a UK-based venture capital company, led the way. Africa-focused VCs Samurai Incubate, Future Africa, Village Global, Rising Tide Africa and Enza Capital took part.

In 2019 Nadayar Enegesi, Prosper Otemuyiwa and Silm Momoh founded Eden Life. The platform enables customers to schedule three housekeeping services – eating, laundry and cleaning – via a mobile application.

When the founders, Ex-Andelans (a term to describe former Andela employees), launched the home service app two years ago, it caused quite a few eyebrows. At that time, founders were increasingly launching projects in the fintech, e-commerce and logistics sectors, so it was surprising to see Enegesi and his co-founders move into an area that many believed was not profitable for a technology company in Nigeria.

“The reason was personal for us,” said Enegesi, CEO of the startup and co-founder of Unicorn Andela, in an interview. The founders started talking about the concept of home services simple when the now popular idea that Nigerians were en masse to leave in search of greener pastures took shape.

Enegesi could understand why people really wanted to move. Comparing his previous stay in Toronto with Lagos, the CEO found that his quality of life in a city that has been described in several reports as one of the worst places in the world has been massively affected.

While widespread stressors such as inadequate power supplies and poor roads are out of reach for citizens, the founders believed that the provision of domestic services such as food delivery and laundry was within reach and would improve the quality of life for some urban workers.

After Eden Life. raised a $ 600,000 pre-seed round for family and friends, started to aim Millennials and Gen Zs that hectic lives, especially in the tech field who work as executives, developers and freelancers.

Credit: Eden life

Customers can subscribe to one or three of the services, and according to the company, people try their food services before the others and it’s not hard to see why.

Initially, Eden employed a simple distribution model of delivering groceries selected by customers from a variety of third-party suppliers. But the process soon became a challenge for the company of a Quality point of view.

“You are simple so many questions about standards. We have learned that many of these small service companies do not have the tools or equipment to deliver at a high level, ”said Enegesi. “We learned that many of them have no training for their employees. We have learned that they do not have the right business processes in order to be able to output the same quality every time. “

At the end of last year, the company realized it had to invest in setting and building these standards if it was to deliver the best customer experience.. What followed was a vertical integration with the grocery department when Eden launched its kitchen and is now producing its meals. significant Enhancing the dining experience for customers.

Access to laundry and house cleaning services is available easy however different. For the former, Eden works with established laundromats in various locations in Lagos and has a network of freelancers that it trains quarterly to do the cleaning. Then logistics company Gokada handles about 75% of the company’s food and laundry deliveries.

What is the traction like for the company? For my part, I am an avid user of Eden’s food service and more than 600 people use one to three of the services. The average customer uses two services five times a week.

Across the board, customers pay an average subscription of $ 100 per month – a fee that can and can cover a daily meal plan or weekly cleaning biweekly Laundry schedule. These plans are monitored by trained professionals called gardeners who are in constant communication with Eden users to provide prompts and receive feedback.

A quick calculation of the customer base and average subscription shows that Eden has about $ 60,000 in monthly revenue. However, the CEO declined to comment on any particular number, just saying that the company had more sales than the proposed number.

According to LocalGlobe General Partner Remus Brett, Eden’s customer obsession and attention to detail stood out along with a key first mover advantage for the main investor.

He said his company “fell in love with Eden Life’s vision for the future of home services in Africa” ​​and that “combining that advantage with a core team with a proven track record of building African technology to an unrivaled level makes Eden Life an exciting one.” Brings away “. of growth. ”

Credit: Eden life

Since its inception, Eden Life has provided over 60,000 services in Lagos alone. The company has yet to penetrate other markets in Nigeria and will not use these funds to do so. Instead, Eden plans to build its in-house technology, scale its team, and use food production facilities and operational centers for sales (which provides an opportunity to explore the dark kitchen model)..

“Lagos is a tough market and we have to make sure everything works,” said Enegesi. “We had to keep working on the fine-tuning and are currently concentrating on making things run very smoothly here. After that we will have talks about where to expand next. “

Africa is the fastest urbanizing continent in the world with a growing middle class. And although Eden Life does not plan to penetrate other markets, some regional players such as the home cleaning service SweepSouth are currently moving into the West African country.

But Enegesi is not worried; the models are very different. Eden operates horizontally combining grocery, laundry and house cleaning services, while SweepSouth takes a more vertical approach to house cleaning.

From a lean model perspective, it seems a better model to run a single service and add more as you scale than to run three services simultaneously. Nevertheless, the expansive model has worked perfectly for Eden so far.

“Our strength is operational complexity because solving any of these things is not going to give our customers the experience we want,” said the CEO. “It is important that we create a complete living experience for people, and does that mean it can take longer than other things? Sure, but it also means that people will have a hard time going up against us. As I said, it’s personal and there has to be something like that. and Happily, We are the ones who can do it. “

Although Eden has a vertical integration strategy to own and manage its entire supply chain and deliver its services without the need for third party vendors, it will also bring more horizontal products to market in the coming months.

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Doug Dow, owner of Doug’s Top Hat Chimney Sweep, brushed the walls of a fireplace in the country club area last week. Dow is a retired Lincoln firefighter.

With a running vacuum cleaner Doug Dow, owner of Doug’s Top Hat Chimney Sweep, cleaned the walls of a fireplace in the country club area last week.

Doug Dow’s chimney sweep brush is the busiest this time of year.

The retired Lincoln firefighter works full-time cleaning chimneys and regularly does five jobs a day at Doug’s Top Hat Chimney Sweep.

“I’m trying to slow down, but I’m out of luck,” said the 66-year-old.

Lincoln firefighters Bob Reynolds and Derald Murrell founded the company in 1978, and Dow joined 10 years later.

He ran Top Hat Chimney Sweeps with Lincoln firefighter Greg Contreras for several years, but now they both run separate businesses called Top Hat.

When Dow was working as a firefighter driving oil rigs out of Station 9 in Bethany, he did six or seven sweeping jobs a day on his days off.

Doug Dow

Courtesy photo

Driving rigs made him feel like a racing driver, he said. As a chimney sweep, he feels like a family dentist.

“It’s like brushing your teeth,” said Dow. “You brush out the inside of the chimney and clean all the soot in there.”

He never guarantees that there won’t be a problem after cleaning a chimney, but his goal is to mitigate a problem by reducing the combustible material inside that could start a fire, he said.

Over the weekend, a dirty wood stove lit a fire and caused $ 10,000 damage to a Martell home, Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner said.

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