After a devastating fire, this family of nine was left penniless and without a home. They lived in a hotel for six months but were forced to move back into their burned-out house. Compounding the problem still further was the fact that six-year-old Ashley Peter suffers from asthma. The air in the fire-damaged house made it difficult in her to breathe.
"After living a long time in extremely difficult conditions, the Peters were asked what they wanted most for their house, which was now without heat or hot water," said Lauri Crawford, Trane brand director. "They had two simple requests: warm air in the winter and clean air for Ashley and her asthma.
"Their new Trane CleanEffects whole-house system ... will now provide not only the cleanest possible indoor air for Ashley, but also warm air in the winter and cool air in the summer for the entire Peter family."
The manufacturer, independent distributor The Wallwork Group, and independent HVAC contractor companies, donated and installed two high-efficiency systems in the Peter home, including touch screen controls, XV90 furnaces, XL19i air conditioners, and CleanEffects. The contractors involved in the project were All HVAC Service Co. Inc., Brooklyn; Total Climate Control, Springfield Gardens; Michael James Industries Inc., Hauppauge; Sound Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Inc., Garden City Park; and Albano AC Mechanical Service Corp., Valley Stream.
A 12-HOUR WINDOW
The three-story, five-bedroom, three-bathroom Colonial house was almost completely destroyed by the fire. Although the Peters had made the best of their situation by covering broken windows with plastic and wood, and hanging sheetrock and drywall to cover holes from the fire damage, the house really needed to be rebuilt from the ground up.From demolition to completion, the TV show had six days to complete the project. The volunteer HVAC team had only 12 hours to complete their portion of the work. Peter Arbeeny of All HVAC Service assembled a team of 28 volunteer HVAC professionals from the five contracting companies.
"We installed two complete systems on three floors in just 12 hours," he said. "I guess you could describe it as organized chaos with a touch of warmth. It's truly amazing how people can and will come together for the good of others in need."
George Albano, of Albano AC Mechanical Service (who had worked on a previous Extreme Makeover: Home Edition), was placed in charge of fabricating and installing the ductwork and registers for the first-floor system.
When asked why he chose to participate in his second extreme home makeover, Albano said, "When you see the people come back to their house that they left when it was basically in ruins, that really gives you something."
Publication date: 06/19/2006
