Last year and in 2014, the figure was closer to 50. So far this winter, the MFS and the CFS have attended 16 chimney fires. The oils coat the chimney and that forms creosote, which is what burns.' 'If you burn good quality wood then you don't have too many issues, it's when you burn wood like pine or melaleuca, wood that has a very high oil content, that's when you get trouble. 'What we do is fire safety and fire prevention,' Mr Hill said. 'Dad was a chimney sweep for about 25 years,' Mr Murray said. Sam Murray started as chimney sweeping about 12 months ago to follow in his father's footsteps Mr Hill estimates there are fewer than a dozen chimney sweeps working in Adelaide, but new people are entering the industry all the time. Just as well because, as every child knows, at Christmas time Santa has the chimney booked for other purposes. 'It keeps me busy 11 months of the year, but at least I get Christmas off.' 'Being a chimney sweep means you get paid every day which is really nice, as opposed to being a musician where you could be waiting for the next gig to come along, so it's a much more regular income.

'Beforehand I was working as a musician and an artist,' he said. Nevertheless Mr Hill argues the good aspects of his job far outweigh any downsides. Modern labour laws and occupational health and safety standards have scrubbed up those standards, and Mary Poppins did a spit spot job of romanticising it all, but cleaning chimney remains by nature, dirty work.

The image of chimney sweeps is inextricably linked with Victorian Britain and child labour. 'We need them because people still like wood fires, and someone's got to keep the chimneys clean.'

Apprentice chimney sweep mary poppins