This was a long time ago, and I’ll try not to drag it out. It is just strong in my memory.
In the late 60’s, my friends Ricki and Mike were living in a house in Columbia, Maryland. For some reason, beyond me now, they needed or got a new furnace. Since Columbia was new at the time, it’s hard to believe they needed one, but somehow, as this ancient mind recalls, they had one coming.
Mike had a friend who could get them a “deal”, and he would install it as well. I am reminded of this today as my next door neighbors just had another new furnace installed today; about two years after a friend got them a “deal”. (I know, you regular readers probably thought they bought another car!)
It was installed and everything seemed fine.
On a Friday evening, a few weeks later, as I remember, Rickie’s mother had a premonition. She was not prone to such events, but she had a strong feeling something was wrong with her “kids”. She called at about 10:00 p.m. and Mike answered, however, he was slurring his words, and in the middle of the conversation, he passed out!
Rickie’s Mom and her Father (or her brother, I can’t quite remember) jumped into the car and drove the 20 or 25 minutes to her daughter’s house. They arrived, and used a neighbor’s phone to call the police and fire department.
They banged on the door, and when nothing happened, and the police were present, they broke in the window and entered the house. The first one in grabbed the dog from the floor of the living room, and brought him outside. The firemen ran in and helped to bring out Rickie and Mike, both passed out in the house. The doctors at the hospital said they were a bit short of death when they were saved.
Carbon Monoxide had been building up over the few weeks the improperly installed furnace was installed.
A new furnace repairman arrived in a day or two and corrected the errors. They lived, and I learned a great lesson. Some things just don’t make sense as a DIY project!
Who knows what would have happened without her mother’s intervention. The hunch paid off big time!
That was almost tragic. But on the bright side, you and your friends learned a great lesson. It's amazing that this furnace tale happened a long time ago, and it's not even your own mistake, yet the things you've learned are still deeply constituted in your mind. Sometimes, the best lessons are really learned the hard way.
ReplyDeleteLevi Eslinger @ Capital Plumbing