WETT names Marshall Byle as Honorary Member
WETT is pleased to announce that Marshall Byle has been named an honorary member of the organization. Honorary Membership is bestowed by unanimous vote of the Board of Directors upon an individual who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to the organization and/or to the WETT Inc. professional training system.
About 45 years ago I built my first wood stove. As Vanessa Percival pointed out, it was the wild west back then. Oil embargoes were taking place, electrical prices were high, and people were installing wood-burning stoves with no certification and sketchy installation rules, even in the building codes. Small-town fire departments were called to deal with chimney fires, often, several per week.
I was serving a boilermaker apprenticeship at the Bruce Nuclear Development but decided to start a part-time chimney sweep business to help pay my mortgage, which renewed at 20% back then. (Sound familiar?) Eventually, I became a part-time nuclear worker and full-time solid-fuel technician, operating a full-service retail store.
Opportunities arose to be involved with the Ontario Chimney Sweeps Association, the Canadian Standards to develop training requirements for sweeps and solid-fuel technicians and, later, B365. When WETT got started, you couldn’t keep me out of it. Taking the first train-the-trainer courses with the best people across Canada was a tremendous experience. Jan Herald and I often delivered training together and later teamed up to upgrade some of the courses.
Over the years I had the opportunity to deliver WETT training all over Ontario and delivered the first courses in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
I don’t think I ever delivered a course without learning something myself. What a privilege.
Marshall is now retired and lives in a woodlot, still burning wood. He also continues to write a monthly column called “Rooftops” for the Bruce County Marketplace magazine. Has been writing this column for over 30 years.
Marshall Byle
WETT President, 1998/1999, 2000/2001