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The hot summer months can be brutal for anyone, but for seniors with medical needs and no working air conditioning, it can potentially be deadly. When the members of the Goodyear Fire Department’s Crisis Response Team recently arrived to check on a medically fragile couple, what they found was alarming.
“We got on scene and realized it was very hot in their home, the air conditioning was not working,” said Crisis Response Coordinator Sandra Espinoza. “Right now, without A/C, we all are at risk, especially someone who is medically fragile. So, we told them our main concern is their safety.”
The Crisis Response Team quickly got to work making calls with resources and HVAC companies to get the couple’s air flowing again. But with summer temperatures soaring, most businesses told them that it would be a minimum of a week for processing, and possibly even months before they could come out to fix it. That’s when Espinoza got in touch with Goodyear-owned AQuality HVAC and its owner Brian Cary.
“When our technician got there, they said it was 96 degrees inside the house,” said Cary. “When it’s 110 degrees out and you haven’t had air for a day or two, that’s an added risk to people.”
What they found in the home was an air conditioning unit that needed to be replaced, and the cost would be over $7,000. That’s when the biggest surprise of all happened – Cary and his team let the couple know that they would be supplying the equipment and installation completely free of charge.
“I told them don’t worry about the cost,” said Cary. “We’ve been a part of the Goodyear community for over 25 years and wanted to do our part.”
For Jaqueline, who along with her husband both have medical issues, having the Crisis Response team provide them with this type of assistance was a complete surprise.
“I didn’t realize I had all this available to me,” said Jaqueline, about the resources of the Crisis Response Team. “They also provided me with a lot of other outlets in case I need any additional help, in the future or short term. It’s not a problem. I can count on them.”
For Espinoza and the Crisis Response Team, helping residents who may need some extra assistance is all in a day’s work.
“We will be referred to a home for one thing and when we get there, we realize there’s a lot of needs in the home whether it’s food, resources, utilities,” explained Espinoza. “That’s why we’re here, we can connect people to those resources in the Goodyear community.”
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