Left in the Cold
JEFFERSON TWP — When Neupert Road neighbors Kim Sasse and Janet Flanders woke up shivering on Sunday morning, they figured the natural gas supply to their homes had suffered a weather-related problem and service would be restored in a few hours at the most.
But they and eight other families on their street between Winfield Road and the Christ is the Answer Church had to tough it out in the subfreezing temperatures until Wednesday morning, when their homes were connected to a temporary gas line.
Sasse said she initially thought the home's furnace had quit working, but determined their Peoples Natural Gas service had been interrupted when the natural gas dryer would not work.
According to Sasse, Peoples told her they would dispatch a crew as soon as possible.
“They got here at about 5:30 that evening and have been working around the clock,” Sasse said.
But as her home and neighboring tack shop grew colder and colder, Sasse and her husband, Zeb, decided it was time to take measures to keep the family warm and the pipes from freezing.
Luckily the Sasses have a fireplace in their living room, which was quickly stoked up and lit.
“We just got a whole load of wood last Sunday, thank goodness,” Sasse said.
She also pulled out two space heaters and borrowed several more from friends and family members.
But Sasse soon learned that the slapdash heating methods were not enough to keep the family warm. She had an idea to hang curtains and sheets from the ceiling to close off all but the living room, kitchen and dining room.“That really helped,” she said. “I set alarms at night to put wood on the fire.”Sasse boiled water on the electric stove so the family could wash up.“I felt like a survivalist,” she said. “The things you take for granted.”She said the chilly situation wasn't too hard on her sons, Tyler, 10, and Chase, 6.“They thought it was pretty awesome that they could camp out on the floor with the dogs,” she said.Sasse also worried about her business, Carousel Horse Tack, which is next door, as well as her employees being out of work until Peoples can get the heat going again.“I'm grateful that we have an online presence so we're getting website orders,” she said.Peoples spokesman Barry Kukovich said ice inside a gas pipe caused the problem for the eight to 10 buildings on the street.He said because of the unusually cold weather it is impossible to dig the lines up to see if they are damaged. That means the houses affected may be forced to use the temporary gas line laying on top of the snow until the arrival of spring.The flooding followed by the freeze, Kukovich fears, might have damaged the lines on or near Neupert Road in more than one area.“Every time you have a freeze and thaw, the ground is flexing and those pipes are flexing too,” he said.He said all of the homes affected have been connected to the temporary line, and the church and tack shop will be hooked up shortly.Peoples workers have responded to more than 1,200 service interruptions as a result of the extreme weather, Kukovich said.“Our crews have been working around the clock,” he said.Flanders said she had lodging offers from family members and friends, but could not move her husband out of the home because he has cancer.She was also unwilling to leave and allow the space heaters to run unsupervised.Because the furnace, stove and hot water heater are all powered by gas, Flanders faced a particularly difficult scenario.
“We had no heat for 60 hours,” Flanders said. “I didn't know how I was going to cope with the pipes (potentially) freezing, keeping my husband warm and eating,” she said.She said the space heaters kept the family from freezing in the home where they have lived for 35 years.“I'm exhausted from worry and lack of sleep,” Flanders said.The family lived off food prepared in a crock pot or electric skillet, and they took sponge baths in tepid water. Dishwater was heated in the microwave oven.The first thing Flanders did when the temporary gas line was connected was draw a hot bath.“I got to wash my hair,” she said.Flanders likely summed up the thoughts of all her neighbors who spent several days without heat.“It was an experience,” she said. “I never want to do it again.”
