30+ Years Certified
Location: Smithtown, New York
Company: Chief Chimney Services, Inc.
John Pilger has been in the sweep industry since 1983 and was the owner and operator of Chief Chimney Services, from 1986 to 2021.  He was formally a Trustee for the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) and is a CSIA Past President.  John was also   President of the NY State Chimney Sweep Guild. He has been a member of and the representative for the CSIA to the National Fire Protection Association 31 committee (Standards for the Installation of Oil Burning Equipment) for 26+ years.  He is the chairman of the CSIA International Relations committee. He also sits on the Ethic committee of the CSIA. John is an instructor for the CSIA and the National Fireplace Institute (NFI).  He is a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep #1780, CSIA Master Chimney Sweep #1, CSIA Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician #4, NFI Certified Wood and Gas Technician 104017, FIRE Certified Fireplace Inspector #126 and holds an Applied Science Degree in Fire Protection Technology.  He is also a former Fire Marshal and Past-Fire Chief and a 51-year member of the Brentwood Fire Department.  He is current Captain of the Fire Department’s rehab company.  John has been a Chimney expert for Dateline NBC, CNN, American Journal, Associated Press and News 12 Long Island. John is a past recipient of the NYS Chimney Sweep Guild Schukal award and the Polish Corp. of Chimney Sweeps Saint Florian award.  In 2007 John was awarded the Chimney Safety Institute of America highest award, “The Don Leavitt Education Award”, for outstanding contributions to the Chimney Sweep industry through education. In 2021 he was awarded the National Chimney Sweep Guild’s highest award “The President’s Award” for outstanding and personal commitment to the United States and International Chimney Service Industry. That same year John was awarded the Sweep Away Cancer award for his dedication to helping Sweeps or their families who have been impacted by cancer. In 2021 he was the recipient of the first CSIA award named after him, “The Pilger” for service and dedication to CSIA. In 2024 he was awarded the highest award given from the ZDS German workers Guild “The Golden Ladder” for many years of International friendship and his dedication to exchange of technology between countries.