Kudos to Syracuse Inspector

To the editor,

Peter Apgar of Craftsman Home Inspection in Syracuse, N.Y., suspected immediately that there was a problem when the distribution fan in an older gas-fired furnace caused the flame at the burners to deform dramatically.

The ASHI Certified Inspector, who serves as the education coordinator for the Central New York ASHI Chapter (CNY), realized that the young woman who was selling the house was clearly pregnant. He fetched his carbon monoxide detector from his truck and measured the ambient (in the air) CO level and found 30ppm.
Recalling his CO awareness training from a past CNY Chapter educational seminar, Apgar realized the potential hazard both to the mother and to the unborn child. He called the hazard to her attention, and she sought medical advice. She was hospitalized for observation.  On the advice of her doctor, the rest of the family moved into a motel until the furnace was replaced.

By realizing that a combination of circumstances created a potentially serious condition, Apgar may well have saved the unborn child and the family from a lifetime of consequences from prolonged low-level CO exposure.
He put his training and experience to good use, and his fellow chapter members are proud of him.

Edward R. Voytovich
ASHI Certified Inspector
Acting Executive Director BPCA/NYS
Absolute Home Inspection/Performance
Syracuse, N.Y.

Corrections
In last month’s issue of the ASHI Reporter, (April 2008) in the article “ASHI Searches and Finds Its New Executive Director,” ASHI Certified Inspector Don Nelson was missing from the list of ASHI members Joe Corsetto thanked for serving on the Executive Director Search Committee.

Also in the April 2008 issue, in “10 Things You Should Know About ASHI,” the past-presidents pictured in item 8 were not merely in attendance at the celebration of ASHI purchasing its headquarters. Pat Casey, John Palczuk, Tom BYRNE (not Burns) and John Ghent had pushed the idea that ASHI needed a permanent home and as the Acquisition Committee, with Ghent as chair, they chose the present headquarters.