Our Story

The Chimney Scientists is a full-service chimney and fireplace company based in southeastern Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia, which provides general services including chimney and fireplace repairs, inspections and cleanings. We also sell and install high-quality fireplace enhancements, such as gas inserts, wood stoves, and even firewood in bulk. 

What began as a passion project for our founder, Joe, has grown into a large team of kind-hearted professionals working together to bring customers the best quality service possible, as well as a truly thorough scientific education of their chimney and fireplace.

Since our founding in 2014, the Chimney Scientists have now supported thousands of homes and families across the region, and we are continuing to apply the foremost advances that technology offers to chimneys and fireplaces. We deliver eco-friendly services to keep you and your family safe, and we’ll ensure you understand the science behind it. 

Beyond our services, we are committed to providing top training and certifications to our employees, and we are helping to tackle critical issues, locally and abroad, from watershed testing for healthier ecosystems to reducing emissions from the burning of firewood to improving health care access in West Africa. We also are committed to giving back to our community and donate annually to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the Brandywine Valley SPCA pet rescue and veterinary clinic, Dawn’s Place, and Natural Lands. 

To learn more about our work and our ongoing efforts in the community, please give us a call or send us a note. 

Sincerely,

The Chimney Scientists
610-909-5585 
chimneyscientist@gmail.com

Core Values

Our team is strongly aligned around our core values. In fact, over the past 6 years, every employee within the Chimney Scientists has been hand-picked because they demonstrate the following characteristics:

H – Honesty & Integrity

O – Operate at the highest level

N – Never say never

O – On the spot

R – Respect the customer, respect the company, respect yourself

The Chimney Scientists always maintain a positive attitude, and we are committed to self-improvement, so that we can better support our team and our clients.

 

Our Founder: Joe Ochal, a Microbiologist Turned Chimney Specialist

To understand our work at the Chimney Scientists, you need to start at the beginning of our story with Joe. He began working for his Uncle Bob’s fireplace showroom during his undergraduate studies. With a knack for installing and maintaining fireplace products, he acquired his hearth and chimney industry certifications, whilst pursuing his degree.

Joe’s passions for microbiology and chimneys were equal drivers. He next undertook his studies toward his Master’s degree in Microbiology at Thomas Jefferson University’s College of Biomedical Sciences, while he simultaneously started the Chimney Scientists.

Joe has applied his scientific education to his approach with chimneys and fireplaces, likewise preparing his team on the most up to date technologies. Under Joe's leadership, the Chimney Scientists operate with a core set of values, driving them to ensure the best service and care to customers. 

Our Investments Beyond Chimneys

Always in Pursuit of Scientific Advancements:

While Joe pursued the Chimney Scientists as his full-time career, preferring a chimney brush to a lab bench, he and his team still strive to stay involved in the scientific community and drive advancements, where possible. In turn, under Joe’s leadership, the Chimney Scientists is a top funder and supporter of several efforts:

• Afrilab Medical Diagnostics: 
  We created and funded Afrilab Medical Diagnostics facilities, which are modernizing the West African Health Care System. We are partnering with 47 local hospitals and 23 pharmacists to offer x-rays, ultrasounds, HIV tests and more to provide critical care. Our facilities also offer the opportunity for local educational centers to provide trainings to students, thus creating an essential training pipeline to further local health care in West Africa.
  
  
  
  
• Valley Forge Watershed Association (VFWA) Project:
  We work in a direct partnership with VFWA around its water quality testing program. We both recruit professors to lead the research and help purchase the equipment for the testings, which are making our watershed ecosystems safer for both people and wildlife alike.

• The Firewood Project:
  We are working internationally with chimney industry leaders on wood burning and moisture content testing, with the objective to significantly reduce particulate emissions in a practical way. A reduction in emissions is translating into lower costs for repairs and cleanings for home owners, as well as benefits to the planet and your personal health.

 

Recognizing Local Charities who are Positively Impacting Our Community:

We are proud Pennsylvanians, and we have a few charities especially close to our hearts. We recognize the incredible work that they do each day, and we hope you will too.

We remain committed to donating to the following incredible charities annually:

• The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation: 
  Since 1982, Susan G. Komen is the largest nonprofit source funding the fight against cancer. It continues to drive research, community health, public policy initiatives and more. 

• Brandywine Valley SPCA:
  The Brandywine Veterinary Clinic has been benefiting the area since 1929, working to end animal suffering and to ensure humane treatment. It operates as both as pet rescue and clinic to animals in needs.
  
• Dawn’s Place:
  Dawn’s Place is a non-profit proactively supporting women affected by commercial sexual exploitation. It provides direct services, raises awareness through education, and pushes for public policy reform.
  
• Natural Lands:
  Natural Lands is a nonprofit that “saves open space, cares for nature, and connects people to the outdoors” across eastern Pennsylvania. Several sites to visit include the Bryn Coed Preserve, the Willisbrook Preserve, and the Bear Creek Preserve.
  

Our Training Promise

Should you be interested in joining The Chimney Scientists, we guarantee a top-quality training and education experience. This belief is at our core, and we want to set you up to succeed.

All Chimney Scientists staff are provided a hybrid of classroom and hands-on trainings, as well as industry certifications to be the very best at what we do.

• Training: We spend approximately $3,500 per year, per team member on education to maintain and provide up to date chimney services. This ongoing investment in new techniques is to ensure the safety and protection of our staff, as well as of our clients’ home investment.

• Specialized Equipment: Our goal has always been to be the very best at what we do. To honor that, we need the right tools. In turn, we have invested over $100,000 in specialized chimney tools from the highest quality ChimScan inspection cameras to Thermocrete pump and auger systems, and specialty roofing scaffolding.
  
  
• Certifications: We partner with nationally-recognized educational organizations to earn our certifications, all of which are up to date and the best the chimney industry has to offer.
  
  Our certifications and memberships include:
  
  
  • Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA)
  • National Fireplace Institute (NFI)
  • National Chimney Sweep Guild membership
    

These investments in our employees today ensure that our customers receive the very best chimney and fireplace services possible. For just as we support our team, our aim is to keep our community safe and sustainable.