I had no idea that central heating systems could be so dangerous.
- In our apartment complex, I don’t have to pay for my heating or cooling at all.
The central heating and cooling systems are set in the entire building, which means that it is free to use, but I don’t have the ability to control the thermostat. I have a space heater and an air conditioner just in case something goes wrong, but they seem to maintain their HVAC units very well so that we don’t have to worry. One day during the winter, while I was sleeping, I was woken up by the sound of a fire alarm going off in my apartment building. We rushed outside, where we learned that the whole building was engulfed in flames. Apparently, the central heating system in the building caused the entire place to burn down. The HVAC technician never noticed that one of the wires was partially exposed, and it caught some of the insulation on fire! This was the worst thing that could have ever happened for this apartment building. Now, they have to host every family in a hotel while they rebuild the entire apartment complex. All of this was caused by a central heating system. The good news is that the hotel that we are staying at has an HVAC unit in every room that I am able to control myself. I am also thankful that I had renter’s insurance, which covered all of my belongings in that building, including my personal space heater and air conditioner.