For the 17th consecutive year, members of the Northwest Heating & Cooling Dealers Association, a chapter of the Michigan Air Conditioning Contractors of America (MIACCA), offered free furnace inspections, tuneups, and repairs for senior citizens on limited incomes. The event is named "Al Keats Day Project Heat." This year, 18 companies participated in the event, and contractors serviced 58 homes in the northwest Detroit area and surrounding suburbs. The repairs made included one complete furnace change-out and two heat exchanger replacements. Seniors were also given free CO detectors if they did not have one in the home, or were offered free tests to ensure that their CO detectors were functioning properly.

In the photo above, Sean McGinty of Guardian Environmental Services of Livonia, Mich., performs routine maintenance on a homeowner's furnace. In the photo at right, Craig Jones, co-owner of Slasor Heating & Cooling, Livonia, gives last-minute instructions to contractors as they prepare to help area seniors.

Publication date: 12/15/2003