Meet Our Professionals

Steven R. Pietila - General Manager

Steve has been with the company since 1990 and is a national leader in the chimney service industry. With over 20 years experience he is past President of the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG), and the Oregon Chimney Sweep Association. He recently received the highest honor in the trade, The President’s Award, at the 2008 NCSG Convention. He is a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep and CSIA Instructor. Steve enjoys working with customers and instilling a vision in his employees for providing outstanding customer service. In order to ensure that his customers get the highest quality of service possible he encourages his staff to seek continued education and training which is financed by the company.

When not on the rooftops or in the office, you might find Steve paddling on the Willamette or Columbia Rivers (he coaches a local competitive dragon boat team), teaching seminars to other chimney professionals, or perhaps leading a short-term missions team. He loves his hometown of Portland, and enjoys the incredible mix of small town friendliness and metropolitan culture. He’s been married to his lovely wife Julie for twenty-seven years and they have three sons.

Walter Smith - Senior Service Technician

A 20 year veteran of the industry, Walter is certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) and by the Oregon Chimney Sweep Association (OCSA). Walter has been with American Chimney since 1993. Prior to that he worked for a large chimney service company in Southern California. Walter prefers the Pacific Northwest by far, noting that the two regions differ greatly with regard to chimney problems and usage.

We call Walter the “Gadget Man. ” His duties include chimney cleaning and system evaluation with a strong emphasis on fire safety and code compliance issues. He is trained and qualified to perform masonry repairs, stove and fireplace installation and upgrades, and chimney liner installations.

Walter resides in Lake Oswego with his wife of 14 years, Lisa. Walter’s interests include camping, biking, kayaking and snow shoeing – especially on Mount Hood. He also loves experimenting with his wood stove and operating his N Scale model railroad in the 1940’s steam era world he’s created.

Dennis Childers - Masonry Service Technician

A native Oregonian, Dennis has been with American Chimney since 1991. Dennis specializes in Masonry work, gas and wood appliance installation, chimney and venting system installation, gas piping and diagnostics. Dennis also serves as our safety officer. He has certifications from the CSIA and OCSA, and has taken classes in Ahrens scaffolding and advanced masonry.

Dennis’ previous work experience involved construction work including drywall, electrical, house framing, finish carpentry, skylights, tile, decks and low voltage wiring. In the future he wants to work more with ‘green’ building concepts and energy efficient fireplaces. Outside of work he enjoys songwriting, recording and playing music with others. He’s an accomplished musician and plays the bass, keyboards and some guitar. He enjoyed a brief stint as a professional musician in the 80’s, but is quite content now to simply play with friends and for his church. He is involved in a home church and is married with two children.

Beau Nielsen - Service Technician

Beau joined American Chimney in April of 2008 and has been servicing chimneys for four years. He is a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep and also Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician. Beau enjoys the variety of challenges found in chimney service work and also spending time finding solutions with our clients.

While not servicing chimneys Beau enjoys spending time with his family, engaging in many outdoor activities including hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, golfing and when there’s time to relax, reading.

Janaki Dechand - Administrative Assistant

Janaki began working with American Chimney in June of 2006 and her responsibilities include answering phones, scheduling jobs, data entry and other office duties. Previously she has been a screen printer, a student and a barista. Her strengths and skills include computer knowledge, customer service and dependability.

In the future she hopes to keep learning and growing in her position with the company. Outside of work she enjoys music (she is a skilled singer and guitar player), crafts and Whippets. She is married with no children.

Mark Spurger - Masonry Technician

Mark joined American Chimney in the spring of 2008 but has been doing masonry work for over 15 years. He enjoys restoring and repairing chimneys as well as repair or constructing any masonry project a homeowner can dream up whether it be brick, block or stone. Mark gets a great deal of satisfaction in seeing the finished result of a project he has put a lot of time in effort into perfecting. He also enjoys seeing the reaction of homeowner’s when they see his work!

When Mark’s not on the job he’s probably doing little projects around the home. He enjoys camping and fishing, but especially spending time with his girl friend and children – he says, “That’s the best”.

Ricky Miler - Mason’s Apprentice

Rickey is the newest (and youngest) member of the American Chimney team, joining in the spring of 2008. He is a great worker, and though he’s one of our quietest employees he’s quick to offer to help and pitch in wherever needed.

With his time off Rickey likes to ride motorcycles, swim and go hiking.