......Of course one building owner insisted someone come and inspect everything.
Whatever they can afford....
I work for a fire protection company. We get 1 or 2 weeks every year when everything (fire sprinkler systems) freezes. We go into "code blue" which means all field personnel have to be ready for emergency calls. Funny thing is we get a lot of calls on dry systems. Forgot to drain condensate traps at low points often. No where near as many problems in the mountain resort towns - they are used to it.
And expensive, overtime rates start at $157.50. Then you find those that don't want to pay their bills, or don't think it is fair to pay a guy for drive time. They call at midnight, because during the day before they thought the problem would go away. The fitter gets there and gets them out of trouble. They don't think they should pay for the half hour there and back. A couple of months later when you call to collect you find out they don't want to pay. A fitter costs me ~$71.00 / hour here - straight time. Its not like we are making a fortune off the $500 bill we send. And it was their fault for not fixing the broken heater, or not closing the overhead door, or whatever.
In the early eighties a building manager at the federal center decided to save money by turning the heat off in a 12 story office building over Christmas break. I worked over 100 hrs that week. It was the biggest paycheck I had ever had. My weekly check is bigger now, but I really thought I was rich back then. I was an apprentice making 55% of fitter wages. Within a few years I had some additional education and was in the office. No more overtime.
I have a love / hate thing with freezing weather.
Regards,
Chilly
