Lennox and Goodman to school’s rescue

USA: Air conditioning firms have rallied around to replace air conditioning units vandalised by copper thieves at an Arizona school.

Two weeks ago before the start of the new school term, St Catherine of Siena Catholic School in South Phoenix was vandalised and five air conditioning units had their copper tubing stripped out, destroying the units, and leaving the school facing a $30,000 replacement bill.

As the school searched for help to pay for and replace the destroyed ac units, their pleas were heard by Ken Goodrich, ceo of local contractor Goettl Air Conditioning. He contacted manufacturers Lennox Industries and Goodman Manufacturing and persuaded them to donate five new 5-ton air conditioning units.

After examining the destroyed units, he also recommended that the new units be installed with cages to prevent a reoccurrence of the theft. He stated, “This has become a serious problem in the Valley. The copper coils are striped out of the ac units and sold to salvage yards as scrap. It’s unfortunate that we have to cage up our air conditioners, especially in Arizona where they are our life support systems.”

Randy Pullen a board consultant to Goettl Air Conditioning, who first highlighted the school’s plight, stated, “Goettl Air has been in the Valley for over 75 years and likes to give back to the community in philanthropic ways.”