BILLINGS — The extremely cold temperatures that have fallen over Billings the past week are keeping heating companies busy.
White Heating and Air Conditioning owner Curt White said his company does the best it can to prepare for the rush, but cold snaps like the current one keep their phones constantly ringing.
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"This cold of weather, it usually comes every year, there's at least a few days of it," White said Tuesday morning. "When the temperature drops below zero, our phones ring off the hook."
From Monday to Tuesday, temperatures dropped to 20 below in the evening, with wind chills sitting at almost 40 below. When temperatures are that low, frostbite can set in within minutes, which is why it's even more important to keep homes and buildings warm.
Lead technician for White Heating and Air Conditioning Kaleb Simcox said that maintaining warmth can be a challenge if the right precautions weren't taken before winter weather hits.
"If there's something that's kind of teetering on the edge that was maybe getting ready to go out, usually running it constantly in this weather will escalate whatever is going on," Simcox said.
On Tuesday, MTN was with Simcox as he checked on one Billings resident's furnace, which was starting to break down. Simcox said the resident called at the right time, giving them time to get the replacement part in time before it stopped working completely.
"It was good they called," Simcox said. "Their furnace is working fine now, but in a couple of days that could change."
That call was one of many Simcox and his team answered Tuesday. White said they've been extremely busy the last week.
"We can see hundreds of calls inside of an hour," White said. "Trying to deal with every one of them can get very difficult because the phone just doesn't quit ringing when it gets this cold."
White said that it's important for people to do routine maintenance on their furnaces, ideally before every winter season.
"It's a lot easier to deal with it versus catching it when it's 20 or 30 below and we're extremely busy," White said.
Still, White said it's like clockwork every year. At some point in the winter, extreme cold temperatures are on the forecast and his team stays as prepared for it as possible.
"We start early and we run late," White said.
"All hands on deck and run as many calls as you can," Simcox said.
