Several weeks ago, I tried to start the first fire of the season in our little antique store and had a smoke up.
The nightmare started when trying to reach the two chimney cleaning companies listed for Vernon and area. They both have active phone numbers and websites, but no one ever calls back. Sometimes the mailboxes are full, other times not - so someone must be monitoring. About three years ago, the same thing happened with one of the two companies not responding then.
Salmon Arm doesn’t service our area because they probably have too much work of their own. Trying to find a reputable local serviceman has also been a real challenge.
This will likely be of great concern to fire departments, fire insurance companies, vendors selling wood burning units, or people just wanting to be safe to have it done on a regular basis. Perhaps hardware stores should be looking at having staff trained or maybe our local politicians can think of a solution to this serious safety issue. Lastly, if some young guy tells me again that there is no work in the Okanagan, I’ll tell him to learn to climb a ladder.
Frances Wirtz - Frankie’s Nook
Armstrong