Madison Area Mechanical & Sheet Metal Contractors Association (MSC) and Steamfitters Local 601 hosted the 33rd Annual Heat’s On event on Saturday, October 23, 2021. Over 40 area steamfitters volunteered a day of labor to inspect and service heating systems in 40 qualified veterans’ homes throughout Dane County. Trucks and equipment used for the day were donated by local union heating contractors, and replacement parts were donated by area suppliers. Veterans signed up for their free furnace checks through the Dane County Veteran Services Office and the Veterans Hospital.
“We need to make sure we take care of our veterans, now more than ever,” said Tom Duffy, Regional Service Manager in Wisconsin for the The Waldinger Corporation. “Each year, we hear stories from our technicians about how this program saved someone from carbon monoxide poisoning or gave someone heat who was without for two freezing winters. It’s a pleasure and an honor to be a part of a program that helps our veterans!”
Heat’s On has been serving Dane County residents since 1987, and have performed maintenance services on over 2,500 furnaces. The purpose of Heat’s On is to reduce the occurrence of veterans going without heat or facing other life-threatening emergencies associated with home heating systems.
Two years ago, Heat’s On fixed a furnace for a veteran who survived the polar vortex without heat in his home. Three years ago, amongst the many veterans that the program serviced, Heat’s On assisted with a furnace of a family with three generations of veterans. In 2017, the program replaced the furnace of a World War II veteran who had been taken to the hospital twice with carbon monoxide poisoning. The leak in the furnace that was causing the poisoning was discovered and fixed by Heat’s On.