Trent Van Meter is hoping his new business venture, Panda Bear Chimney Care, will offer residents across northern Colorado an affordable option for keeping their chimneys clean.

“There are a lot of people using wood-burning fireplaces in this area,” said Van Meter, who’s certified with the Chimney Safety Institute of America. “Maintenance in your chimney is extremely beneficial for your house because it prevents chimney fires.”

Last summer, Van Meter attended Chimney Institute of America’s national training academy, and he was certified in August 2023.

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He took part in the six-day course that combines classroom training at the institute’s technology center with real-world experience in the field. Classroom time is dedicated to developing a working knowledge of the terminology, theory, tools and systems of the chimney service trade. Hands-on training at the technology center provides an opportunity to practice using the tools of the trade and become familiar with differing chimney systems. One full day is dedicated to sweeping and inspecting chimneys.

Van Meter was working for a Steamboat Springs-based fireplace business at the time, but decided he wanted to follow this career path and began his own company using the knowledge he gained training to provide services that will make homes safer.

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“Creosote is a combustible material as it’s sitting in your chimney, its heat resistance is higher than wood but it can still combust,” Van Meter said. “It sits in your chimney, and just keeps compacting on itself and then turns into a really hard substance — it’s very hard to remove.”

He recommends homeowners have their chimneys swept at a minimum once a year, and even better twice a year, to remove the black, tar-like substance that forms inside a chimney when smoke doesn’t entirely escape. Van Meter uses a rotary sweep, which breaks up the creosote inside the chimney so it can be removed.

He said that when fireplaces have not been cleaned regularly, other measures may be required to remove the creosote.

“If I can’t get it all with the whip, then we start talking mitigation or using a creosote remover to turn that hard rock into a powder state where I can remove it much easier to get them back down to metal,” Van Meter said. “My job is to remove that build-up, and if it’s that bad, then much more aggressive measures need to get it done.”

Van Meter grew up outside of Colorado Springs and worked as an iron worker in Denver.

“Me, my wife and my son moved to Craig in 2021,” Van Meter said. “I got started with FedEx when it was based in Kremmling, and I worked a route that took me from Craig to Kremmling and back to Steamboat Springs.”

He left that position after the ownership changed and found his passion for chimney sweeping while working for a stove and fireplace business in Steamboat Springs. Van Meter recently started Panda Bear Chimney Care, which is based in Craig and serves all of Northwest Colorado. He has not set up a website, but he can be reached at 970-620-8515 or by emailing chimneysweepinquiry@gmail.com.

“So far my business has come from word of mouth, which is important in small rural areas,” Van Meter said. “Word of mouth and paper flyers have been the biggest source of revenue for my business, and it’s the reason why my dream is still alive.”