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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife resident says he is worried the day will come when he and his family will be left shivering in the cold, even with a roof over their heads.

John Mutford had an eye-opening experience recently when the furnace in his family's home stopped working Tuesday morning and a business offering 24-hour emergency service told him he would have to wait a month to have it serviced. - Jason Emiry/NNSL photo

John Mutford said he, his wife and two children woke up to a frigid household last Wednesday morning. Their furnace had stopped working overnight.

Mutford said he called up several heating contractors but was told by two of them they were short-staffed and couldn't help get his furnace working again.

"The earliest anyone said they could look at it was a month," said Mutford. "A month! They said they just simply didn't have the manpower."

One of these heating contractors, JSL Mechanical Installations, states it has 24-hour emergency service in its Yellow Pages ad. The company declined to comment on the issue.

"The one that advertised (24-hour service) said that it is just not an option right now," said Mutford.

"They put out job ads. They're not getting any resumes in and they just don't have anybody that can service them. We said we don't have any heat; it's an emergency. They told me that they had already four emergency calls (that) morning. They said it would be about a month - we don't have the people to do it."

JSL recently posted an ad on Allstarjobs.ca looking for an oil burner mechanic.

Mutford was eventually able to get his furnace working again after hitting the reset button..

He said one heating service provider, Hearth and Home Central Heating, did call back to say they would be able to have someone come over.

Regardless, he said understands the staffing issues faced by businesses in town."If they don't have the people, they don't have the people," said Mutford.

"I don't really blame them. It's not a good situation to be in."

Bill Aho of Hearth and Home Central Heating said his company is also experiencing staff shortages.

"Any trade-related industry right now is starving for manpower and we're no different," said Aho.

"We are always struggling to find qualified people to do the work that is necessary."

Hearth and Home has an after-hours number but they don't advertise it.

"Anybody that dials into our regular number can access an after hours number," said Aho.

He said prevention is the best way to avoid furnace problems.

"We schedule services on people's furnace from August forward," he said.

"People who have been around for a period of time and understand the potential of the difficulties, they might have to get their furnace serviced on an annual basis. They call and book appointments and we make arrangements as required."

Possible furnaces problems include no fuel or components breaking down, he said. If homeowners hit their reset button, problems will arise later on.

"It's an indication that something is beginning to fail on your heating system," said Aho.