Left in the cold

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image

A furnace service representative examines Valerie Ferguson's furnace closet that's on her condo deck. Photo Store

Bad enough the furnace broke down in the coldest winter in a century.

For Valerie Ferguson, that misfortune Feb. 1, 2014, was the start of her heating troubles.

"I never would have guessed I'd be in a condo with no heat," she said.

The problem? New high efficiency furnaces mandated by federal law don't fit in the space designed for the furnace in Ferguson's Tuxedo Village condomium.

The federal civil servant spent the winter huddled under blankets with space heaters for warmth, unable to find a new furnace without a costly refit.

"I'd be under the afghan and the cat would be under there with me," she joked.

With winter hard on Winnipeg's heels again, Ferguson said it looked like she faced the same desperate freeze as last year but is hoping she'll have a new furnace within weeks.

In the last year, half a dozen contractors crossed her door to figure out how she can install a new furnace. Some came back twice, she said.

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Left in the cold