ZELIENOPLE — As if facing his fourth overseas deployment wasn’t enough, Army Staff Sgt. Jesse Hogan carried the burden of leaving for Qatar while his wife and young son dealt with the complete refurbishment of their 1816 house.

Enter Jason Thompson of Knoechel Heating in Zelienople, who donated a new high-efficiency furnace and installation to the family.

The Lennox heat pump system and new ductwork is in place in the home off Route 68 West, where every room is stripped down to the studs.

“I was pretty speechless,” Hogan said of the phone call from Thompson telling him of the bequest. “I didn’t know what to say. It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for us.”

The unit and installation, which includes air conditioning, would have cost $7,000 to $8,000.

Thompson explained that in the summer he got a call from Hogan, who was shopping for a heating system for a refurbishment project. Upon arriving to check the job out, he noticed Hogan wore a military ball cap.

The next day, as he figured up a price for installing the unit and running the new duct work, the military hat remained on Thompson’s mind.

Thompson met with company owner Bruce Knoechel, from whom he will soon buy the business, and three installers, about donating a furnace and providing the installation after hours and off company time.

“Bruce said ‘Roll with it,’” Thompson recalled.

He then called Hogan’s mother to see if Jesse and his wife Candace would be averse to the donation for any reason. Jesse’s emotionally stricken mother called Candace to make sure the donation would be OK.

“I know she cried,” Candace said.

Jesse Hogan said his deployment in May will be the second since he married, and the first since the birth of the couple’s 3-year-old son, Tristan.

The sniper section leader said knowing a furnace is in the family’s home will ease his mind as he concentrates on his important task overseas.

“For Jason and Knoechel to do that for us was a huge burden removed,” Hogan said.

Candace Hogan agreed as she watched Tristan play on Tuesday with wrenches at the home’s temporary tool bench.

“You have people who donate a dollar or two to vets, but this is a big deal,” she said. “It could not have come at a better time.”

Jesse Hogan pointed out that the three-man Knoechel crew who worked for three evenings to install the furnace and run the duct work included a volunteer firefighter and the father of a soldier.

To run ducts to the family’s kitchen, the men had to squeeze into a tiny dirt crawl space.

“They seemed very happy to be here doing it,” Hogan said.

Thompson confirmed that the men were only too happy to provide the service to the Hogans.

“I’ve got a good bunch of guys there,” he said.

Jesse Hogan said he will never forget the generosity and patriotism of Jason Thompson and Knoechel Heating.

“It means a lot,” he said.