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Hundreds Of Homes At Risk After Questionable HVAC Work

By Jeff Todd

DENVER (CBS4) - A company that fixed or installed furnaces, air conditioners and hot water heaters is no longer allowed to operate in Colorado.

Mile High Heating and Cooling (2)
(credit: CBS)

The Colorado Attorney General's office has been investigating Mile High Heating and Cooling LLC for two years, and last week a Denver judge issued a temporary restraining order against the company, its owners Kevin Dykman and Kasey Dykman and their Colorado Springs subsidiary Pikes Peak Heating and Cooling.

Investigators say the company was run in a "fly by night" fashion and technicians were frequently untrained, their work was not permitted and city inspectors rarely checked the work to make sure it was safe.

The state started investigating after a furnace was installed in a dangerous fashion at the home of a 94-year-old woman. The woman's family repeatedly called and asked the company to fix the mistakes and eventually had to have someone else fix the issue.

"It's supposed to be mounted to the wall, so you can't move it, it can't be jostled around or knocked out of place. And it was completely loose, you could pull it off the wall," said Boyd Anders from Arapahoe Heating Service, Inc, who fixed the issue. "The danger was where the vent goes through the roof to get rid of the carbon dioxide or the burnt gas it wasn't connected at all."

"She's very lucky we had warm weather at that time because if it was running for a long period of time definitely, it would have killed her for sure," Anders said.

Mile High Heating and Cooling (1)
(credit: CBS)

The issue could affect thousands of homes throughout the Front Range and Colorado Springs area who had work done by Mile High Heating and Cooling.

Anders recommends having a carbon monoxide detector near the furnace and hot water heater. He also says it's vital for customers to investigate companies.

The Attorney General's office has created a special webpage information for customers of Mile High Heating and Cooling who may want to have their work double checked to ensure it's safe.

NOTE: While they share similar names, Englewood-based business MileHi HVAC is not associated in any way with the company Mile High Heating and Cooling.

Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.

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