Heat Repair Technicians Working Overtime In Tulsa Area

Dan Bewley, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The bitter cold temperatures are wreaking havoc on heating units across Tulsa. Repair crews are busy, and many homeowners hope they don't have big problems and costly repair bills.

There are a few things you can do to make sure your heater doesn't break down. As the temperature stays below freezing, heat and air technicians are working overtime.

"It's been extremely busy. It's been real tough getting around especially last week during the main storm," said Dave Spears of AirCo Service.

Spears says it's been non-stop over the past nine days. Thursday he was fixing the furnace at Carolyn Finch's home.

"It went off last week during the first snow storm, and we had it off for about four days and it just wasn't working," said homeowner Carolyn Finch.

Spears says the cold itself hasn't caused furnaces to break down. It's the buildup of snow that's behind the problem. It gathers and covers the flue pipes on the roofs which leads to a lack of ventilation.

He said homeowners need to make sure they sweep away the snow from those flues.

The pros say it's also important if you have a package unit - that's both an A/C and a heater that's outside and exposed to the elements - that needs to be clear of snow. So get all the snowdrifts off to get the most out of that unit.

"We've had to clear off quite a bit of units, clear snowdrifts off some roofs to get to the flue pipes and get them cleared away so we can actually vent the gases and bring air into the 90 percent furnaces and whatnot," said Dave Spears, AirCo Service.

Finch is hopeful her furnace will soon be back up and running. If not she'll just keep on improvising.

"Well, we've got little space heaters we've been putting on, and the fireplace and doing a lot of baking to keep the house warm - and that's how been keeping warm, said Carolyn Finch, homeowner.

Spears says it's very important to have a working carbon monoxide detector in your home. A broken furnace can easily allow the deadly gas to build up, and you might not know it until it's too late.