Volunteer program ‘Heat’s On’ keeping furnaces working and safe

(ABC 6 News) – Project ‘Heat’s On’ is a program that provides free furnace repairs and inspections to senior, low-income and disabled homeowners.

The project consists of volunteers who spend thousands of hours ensuring that people in the community have working, safe furnaces.

It is part of a collaborative between Union Pipefitters, Minnesota Mechanical Contractors Association, and the Three Rivers Community Action Partnership. Heat’s On has donated more than 37,150 hours of skilled labor, with a value of $3,889,245. Altogether, the project has assisted 8,205 households by approximately 7,050 volunteers.

Many households receiving the help say it can be difficult to pay for furnace repairs or to even remember to get them checked out before winter rolls around.

Leonard Booth lives in Rochester, Minn. and is one of the homeowners Heat’s On assisted Saturday morning.

“I’m glad you guys have this program, I mean I probably couldn’t afford this myself,” Booth said to the volunteers. “I’m just glad you guys are offering this program to a lot of people and I think people should take advantage of it. You want to protect your family and yourself, you want to live to see another day.”

More information on Heat’s On can be found here.