In 1990, several issues pertaining to the residential heating and air-conditioning business resulted in the formation of the PPMCA. Reports of carbon monoxide poisoning were alarming. Carbon monoxide from a wall furnace killed five members of a family that were moving into a newly rented home. The owner of the home had performed some service on the wall furnace and hadn't reassembled it properly. After this tragedy, the owner of the rental home took his own life by locking himself in his garage with his automobile engine running.

Before it became known that the owner of the rental home had performed work improperly, several entities assumed there was a lack of safety in our industry. Compounding this erroneous assumption, a few unscrupulous heating contractors used scare tactics to sell unneeded furnaces to local senior citizens. Scarcely a week went by that local TV news teams didn't report another case of furnace fraud or victim being hospitalized with CO poisoning.

Believing there was a need to protect the public, members of the Colorado Springs City Council placed greater faith in Colorado Springs Utilities employees to service residential furnaces than technicians working in the private sector.

The concept of private industry competing with government for work was one of several challenges that led to the formation of PPMCA. The Association identified three main objectives: Correct mistaken impressions of our industry; promote integrity and professionalism; and provide public awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by improper work that was often executed by property owners and untrained maintenance workers.

Originally started by six contractors, the association grew rapidly to around 50 members. Today the association has over 80 members and continues to grow. The association was successful in restoring its professional image that eliminated private industry competing with government in the heating service market. In a collaborative effort with the Colorado Springs Utilities, we supported the Mechanic IV license that requires each mechanic to receive a minimum amount of training each year. The PPMCA provides most of the training required for the Mechanics IV License through its training committee.

In addition, the PPMCA initiated a new code requirement that was adopted by Pikes Peak Regional Building Department that requires an owner of rental property to hire a professional heating contractor to perform service work on any type of heating equipment. The property owner is not permitted to work on the heating equipment. of any rental property. However, a homeowner may work on his own heating system.

To address the furnace fraud issue, the PPMCA developed a code of ethics that all members are required to follow. Included in our code of ethics are two key statements: "Members subscribe to ethical and honest business relations with their customers, employees, suppliers, and fellow members" and "Member firms and their employees will not attempt to sell to a customer parts or services that are not required". Today we are proud to say that reports are scarce of carbon monoxide poisoning or furnace fraud.

The PPMCA also established the WARM WHEELS program that provides yearly furnace maintenance for seniors who live on limited income and cannot afford this service. PPMCA members individually handle two to three calls from these senior citizens and perform work at no cost to the owner. In the first year of this program, PPMCA members found nine cracked heat exchangers that could have been lethal. These units were replaced with new equipment donated by member suppliers again at no cost to the owners. It would be conservative to say that the association members saved several lives in the first year alone. As a result of this community service, the PPMCA proudly received the Kindness Award presented by the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 2000.

The PPMCA was instrumental in the formation of the referral program now called HOME VANTAGE by the Colorado Springs Utilities. The program assists customers who call the Utilities Department seeking qualified heating and plumbing contractors are referred to a list of PPMCA members.

The PPMCA has a representative on the Value Added Project and Services Advisory Board of the Colorado Springs Utilities. This board reviews new programs proposed by the utilities department to assess potential impact on private business within the community. The PPMCA and Utilities Department share a mutual goal to not implement programs that could be competitive with private industry.

In addition, the PPMCA's Regional Building Department Committee conveys membership concerns regarding licensing, permit and inspection to Pikes Peak Regional Building Department.

Every year there are new issues that arise which impact our industry .The PPMCA is ready and willing to face these issues head on. In the future, as in the past, we will face these issues with integrity and pride in the industry we serve.

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