BOULDER, Colo. — Snow and cold is causing new issues for homeowners in Boulder County.
“None of these houses have electric or gas going to their house right now, so everything is cold and going to freeze and we are just trying to keep it from freezing,” said Jason Patton, owner of Patton Plumbing.
Since Friday, though, Patton Plumbing called off their planned work so they can go door to door in Boulder County looking for people who need help winterizing their homes. Power and gas are still off for some homes in the path of the Marshall Fire, meaning cold temperatures are creating plumbing problems.
“It’s not going to take much more for pipes to start freezing and breaking in the house,” Patton said.
When Patton called on his team to jump in and volunteer, staffers like Richard Murphy quickly joined in, going door to door asking if anyone needed help.
“Honestly, me and my girlfriend sat in bed that first morning waking up and we wondered what we could do to give back and I was actually happy I had a reason, something I could do,” Murphy said.
Patton and his plumbers think they’ve helped about 40 families so far, and their campaign continues.
In crawl spaces, basements, and utility closets, Patton and his team waste no time looking for and fixing issues created by the equation of no heat and icy temperatures.
As they ride from street to street, neighborhood to neighborhood, the pair of plumbers see the destruction from the fire. Some homes made it, some of their neighbors did not.
“No words, it’s just sad. You’ll be driving along the neighborhoods and we are looking for people to help and see who is outside their homes and you don’t even realize, all the sudden you are next to homes that are just gone,” Murphy said.
It is certainly hard not to think about the devastation as the crews work to help whomever they can.
“I’m just sad for how many people were losing their homes and thinking about people’s pets. It’s just scary,” Patton said.
Patton Plumbing says they plan on continuing their work to help as many people as they can. Jason Patton is just grateful to do what he can to pitch in.
“Everybody wants to help out, they just don’t know how to. We are just lucky we have a way to help out,” Patton said.
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