Flood Homes With Hope is offering free carbon monoxide detectors to residents whose homes suffered damage in last summer’s flash floods because so many residents continue to have trouble with furnaces and boilers.
“We want people to be safe and having a working carbon monoxide detector is one important step,” said Dean Minardi, the regional supervisor for the team of Lutheran Social Services Disaster Case Managers.
The Disaster Case Managers have worked with a number of residents whose furnaces appeared to work after the flood, but later discovered that they failed during the intense cold. In several cases, residents have been forced out of their homes by small fires or carbon monoxide.
Disaster Case Managers have helped dozens of residents across the region replace furnaces, boilers and hot water heaters damaged in last summer’s floods. Many residents have tried to survive the winter with equipment that was damaged by the flooding. The recent extreme cold caused some of that damaged equipment to completely fail.
Most experts think that furnaces and boilers that have been submerged in floodwaters should be replaced. Damage to electrical systems could cause them to malfunction or catch fire, and there may be hidden contamination in the housing, insulation or ductwork.
Flood Homes With Hope is the multiagency campaign to help flood survivors rebuild their homes and lives after last summer’s flooding. It operates a network of Disaster Case Managers out of offices in Moose Lake, Cloquet, Superior and Duluth. They are currently working with more than 300 active cases to identify the resources to help residents rebuild and repair their homes. Flood Homes With Hope partners include the United Ways of Greater Duluth, Carlton County and Douglas County, Ecolibrium3, One Roof Housing, the Salvation Army, Lutheran Social Services, Carlton County, St. Louis County among many others.
The carbon monoxide detectors are available for free for flood survivors from the Disaster Case Managers, who can be contacted at (218) 499-9480 or through the Flood Homes With Hope website at www.FloodHomesWithHope.org.
The carbon monoxide detectors were donated by the Kidde Corporation, makers of the Nighthawk carbon monoxide detector, with additional detectors purchased through donations from the Salvation Army and the Northeast Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.