About Me

Background

I would first like to thank you for taking the time to visit my website. Chances are if you are on my website, you are looking for a qualified company to entrust the safety of your home and family. Luckily, you came to the right place. I would like to tell you a little bit about myself and hopefully provide peace of mind that when hiring Black Dog Chimney Service, you will be receiving the highest quality, professional chimney services.

My name is Eric Herrmann and I am a 3rd generation chimney technician. In the early 1980’s, my grandfather embarked on a mission to leave corporate America and independently providing for his family. It was then he started what was then an unassuming chimney business, E&E Chimney Sweeps. My grandfather quickly realized that hard work, education, and training were the necessary foundations of providing high quality service. During the past several decades, my grandfather has built a successful full service chimney company and fireplace store which he is still running to this day in Bucks County.

In the mid 1980’s, my father started working for my grandfather. The business was growing and my grandfather needed young people to help achieve his vision. My father, who was a hard worker and eager to learn, put everything he had into his career. Achieving all the major certifications for this trade, he eventually started working with insurance companies and law firms on chimney related losses and structure fires. Almost eight years ago, the demand for my father’s expert services became so great, he had to make a difficult decision to leave the family business and do the expert consulting full-time, creating Leo Herrmann’s Fireplace and Chimney Services Inc. My father is now one of very few nationally recognized chimney experts. In addition, he sits on two national technical committees: NFPA 211 and NFPA 31.

My Experiences

Being raised in a family business, chimneys, in some shape or form, were apart of the daily conversation. I worked as a teenager for my grandfather and spent time learning from him, my father, as well as my uncles.

After leaving college, I worked for another successful chimney company in Delaware County called DJ Cross Chim Chimney Inc. Wanting another perspective from a different successful chimney company, I gained the valuable additional experience I needed to feel comfortable starting my own chimney business.

While my experience as a chimney technician are the foundation of my knowledge, working for my father has provided the most valuable lessons. Together we have inspected losses and structure fires in the states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. I have witnessed scenes that the overwhelming majority of chimney professionals do not see: what a house looks like after a fire occurs caused by faulty chimney situations. I’ve been doing this with my father for years now, inspecting hundreds of fires and there is no more valuable lesson for a chimney technician to obtain. Even the more experienced chimney technicians would be lucky to have this experience just one time. I have assisted in dismantling many fireplaces and chimneys for investigators to search for a fire cause and secure the necessary evidence. Essentially, I have seen the aftermath of deficiencies many times and understand all the major and minor problems that will lead to devastation. In addition to the structure fires, I have assisted my father in examining hundreds of chimneys for everyday damages. I am fortunate to have been trained, and am still being trained, by a national industry expert. The experience I have gained in fire investigation has proved invaluable in recognizing hazards.

Rest assured, Black Dog Chimney Service, LLC will provide an honest and quality service for all of its customers.