Floor Furnaces: A Footnote

PG&E is under considerable “heat” [no pun intended] given the California fires. So much so, that they are rumored to be filing for bankruptcy. Perhaps this is why things played out the way they did last weekend when I asked PG&E to inspect the floor furnace in my apartment and turn on the gas and pilot light.

When the PG&E technician entered the apartment, he exclaimed, “Oh my goodness, you have a floor furnace! That means you have a crawl space.”

Says I, “Well, yes, and I can show you where it is and open the crawlspace access door.”

The technician (who was a bit portly) looked at the crawlspace opening in dismay and then took out his measuring tape. He said, “The opening is too small and out of code. If I get stuck, PG&E will have to rescue me.”

He took out his flashlight and showed me the furnace beneath the floor and where the gas valve is. I volunteered to crawl beneath the building to turn on the valve but he warned me against this.

As I saw him walk away with his tool box, I reflected upon a recent advisory from the property management company:

• If you smell gas when you turn your gas heater on (or any gas appliance), or if your CO detector alarm is activated, you need to turn off the appliance, contact PG&E immediately at 1-800-743-5000 and open all windows and doors to ventilate. PG&E will send a technician out immediately to check your gas heater or gas appliance and if need be, turn the gas off until repairs can be made. 

• If you simply need your gas heater pilot light lit, please contact PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 and they will arrange with you to check your heater for safety and re-light the pilot light. This may be the quickest way to get your pilot light lit. 

Heating and Air Conditioning Vendors don’t want the liability to inspect a floor furnace;

PG&E doesn’t relish the idea of their technicians being trapped in a crawl space or the inspection liability; and

And the property owner doesn’t want to invest in a replacement furnace even though he could appeal to the Oakland rent board to pass along the capital improvement costs to the tenants.

Net, net, the property management company should be proactively inspecting any apartments with floor furnaces on an annual basis for they, too, may be liable for negligent repair and inspection.

I’m resorting to my space heater and sweaters to stay warm in the interim and, if it gets too cold, I will arrange for an HVAC vendor to turn on the gas and inspect the furnace. Oy vey!