Where It All Started
Bob & Dottie Long
Founders
Bob and Dottie Long came to New Hampshire to slow down. They built a log cabin here back in the '80s, and though life moved the family all over the country, they always found their way back to it for vacations and get-togethers. So when the time came to pseudo-retire, the cabin was the obvious place. And when Bob walked into the old Woodsville Stove Shop looking for a fireplace to make the cabin a bit cozier, he got to talking with the owner. By the end of that chance meeting, he had bought more than just a new fireplace.
That was 2003. Dottie, working full time as a registered nurse caring for the elderly, still found hours to answer phones and help in the office in those early years. Soon after, daughter Cindy and son-in-law Mike moved up to join the business, and son Dave began splitting time before coming aboard full time. In 2006 the family moved the shop and established Fireside Hearth & Leisure.
The story starts in 2003
Terrible at Retiring
Within a few years, Bob stepped away from the business entirely, but retirement never quite took. He still builds homes and stays deeply involved in the community. Today the whole family lives close by: their kids, spouses, and five grandsons, all in the same community, and Bob and Dottie couldn't be happier. To those five boys, and most of us, they're simply Mimi & Pa.
The man who came in to buy one fireplace ended up starting a second-generation family business that's still going strong 23 years later.
Meet the Team
Cindy & Mike Williams
Co-Owners
Cindy runs the engine room of Fireside. Every install, service call, and order has a dozen moving parts behind it — and she's the one making sure they all line up. She's the operational backbone that keeps Fireside spinning.
Mike has been part of Fireside since day one and anchors the service side of the house. Between the two of them, Cindy and Mike bring 46 combined years to the business — and it shows in how the place runs.
At Fireside since 2003
Certifications & Credentials
Mike: CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep (CCS) · CSIA CDET · NFI Pellet Specialist.
Cindy: NFI Hearth Design Specialist (in progress).
Off the Clock
The Williams household runs on sports. Their three boys grew up at the rink — with Mike behind the bench as a coach in seasons past — and on the ballfields and soccer fields, with the oldest now off to college. When the schedule clears, the family heads outside: relaxing on the boat, camping in Maine, ATV rides, and hanging out at the lake.
Meet the Team
Dave Long
Co-Owner
Dave's father bought Woodsville Stove Shop in 2003, and Dave began splitting time to help with the family business before coming aboard full time. In 2006 the family moved the shop and established Fireside Hearth & Leisure, and Dave has spent the two decades since building it into arguably the most credentialed hearth team in northern New England.
The credentials are important — and hard-earned — but what matters most to him is what they represent: a team that does the job right, and apprentices coming up the same way.
At Fireside since 2003
Certifications & Credentials
NFI Master Hearth Professional (Wood · Gas · Pellet) · CSIA Master Chimney Sweep (MCS) · CSIA CDET · NH Gas License (Gas–Hearth). Dave supervises two of Fireside's gas apprentices.
Off the Clock
Dave and Heather are raising two boys who keep the calendar full. He coaches baseball, and when he's not at the field he's hiking, biking, or building trails — a do-it-yourselfer to the core, at home and at work. Come winter, family time means Cannon — where the Longs have been known to run a barbecue in the parking lot and feed whatever pile of kids shows up on the side of the trail.
Meet the Team
Amy Tenney
Office Manager
Amy is the cornerstone of the Fireside office — the one greeting customers in the showroom, scheduling the madness of hearth season, and answering the phones. After more than a decade, she's the voice and the face of Fireside for thousands of customers.
If you've called us, visited us, or booked a sweep, odds are Amy made it happen — and if there's a Fireside get-together, she organized that too.
At Fireside since 2014
Certifications & Credentials
NFI Hearth Design Specialist (in progress).
Off the Clock
Amy is the first to get the March Madness pool going every spring — and we love her even though she's a Duke fan. She rides snowmobiles and shares it all with her other half, Steve. Her proudest title these days is Grammie (Steve goes by B-Pa): one grandbaby here, with another on the way. You may have met the grandbaby's dad — Amy's son Austin is on our crew.
Meet the Team
Jay Choate
Senior Technician
Jay is the anchor of the Fireside field crew — the longest-tenured technician on the team and the one the toughest jobs go to. He's famously level-headed: the more complex the install, the calmer he gets, working through everything one step at a time until it's done right.
Eight years in, Jay has had a hand in nearly every kind of project Fireside takes on — wood, gas, and pellet — and he's the standard newer techs measure themselves against.
At Fireside since 2018
Certifications & Credentials
CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep (CCS) · NFI Gas Hearth Specialist · NH Gas License (Gas–Hearth). Jay also supervises Fireside's newest gas apprentice, passing the trade along the same way he learned it.
Off the Clock
Away from the job, Jay is with Katie and the kids — cheering from the bleachers at baseball, basketball, and soccer games, camping in Maine or the Carolinas, getting a fishing line in the water when he can (sun or snow), and chipping away at his favorite never-ending project: fixing the driveway.
Meet the Team
John Crocker
Field Technician
John is proof that “eager learner” isn't just a phrase around here. Since joining Fireside, he's chased down certification after certification — and caught them all, earning the NFI Master Hearth Professional designation across wood, gas, and pellet.
These days he's passing it forward, supervising two of Fireside's gas apprentices while carrying a full install and service schedule.
At Fireside since 2019
Certifications & Credentials
NFI Master Hearth Professional (Wood · Gas · Pellet) · CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep (CCS) · CSIA CDET · F.I.R.E. Certified · NH Gas License (Gas–Hearth).
Off the Clock
John rocks a lot of nicknames — Johnnie Cape Cod, Johnnie Crystal, and most recently Johnnie Homeowner — but to us he'll always be just Johnnie. He shares the new house with his bride, Brianna. He'll travel for a hockey game whenever he can, and he's an avid golfer still hunting his first hole in one.