Area hit by the cold snap blues as temperatures drop

It?s your worst possible winter nightmare: temperatures well below zero and the furnace breaks down. It?s a situation some people have had to face recently, and local heating contractors have been doing their best to keep their customers warm.

The temperatures have been the coldest of the season the last week, with wind chill readings well below zero. The temperature Tuesday morning was anywhere from one below to 10 below zero. Alpena, a National Weather Service reporting site, had five below at 8 a.m. Tuesday while Sault Ste. Marie was 11 below. With the cold, some heating equipment has been running non-stop, which contributes to system failures.

Mike Marx from Zgorski-Micketti Plumbing and Heating reported one such breakdown at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, when a repairman was called out to restore heat at a rural home.

Standard Heating of Rogers City and Onaway received the majority of its calls on Friday and Monday during the cold spell.

Th

e calls after regular business hours have been a half dozen or more for John Wojcik of Wojcik Heating. He said in one case a customer came home from work to find the temperature in his house had dropped to 30 to 40 degrees. It?s ?very seldom? the heat can?t be turned back on, said Wojcik, but it does happen.

Beth Budnik of John?s Plumbing and Heating said their repairmen do encounter odd brands sometimes and aren?t able to fix the units on the spot, and have to order parts. In those instances, they provide heaters. If there is a breakdown, Budnik is adamant that people not use an ?inappropriate source of heat.?

Fire is a concern as well as deadly carbon monoxide gases. Marx said the best course of action is to have the furnaces checked out before winter.