KANKAKEE, IL – October 13, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –

Goodberlet Home Services, a family-owned HVAC, plumbing, and electrical company, is offering furnace safety inspections and carbon monoxide alarm checks to customers in Illinois and Indiana as the heating season begins. The company is reaffirming its focus on home heating safety after Wisconsin fire officials renewed carbon monoxide warnings following a leak that sent nine people to the hospital.

According to an October 1, 2026 report by WBAY-TV, the leak occurred early on September 30 in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, and hospitalized nine people, seven of them children. Green Bay Fire Department Chief Nick Craig told the station that carbon monoxide calls tend to rise once households begin running their furnaces, particularly furnaces that are malfunctioning. Officials interviewed in the report recommended yearly inspections of fuel-burning appliances before the first major freeze and working detectors near sleeping areas.

The risk extends well beyond one region. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Basics guidance, last updated January 12, 2026, more than 400 Americans die each year from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning not linked to fires, more than 100,000 visit an emergency department, and more than 14,000 are hospitalized. The CDC lists gas and oil furnaces and portable generators among common household sources of the gas and advises having heating systems serviced by a qualified technician every year.

Goodberlet Home Services said its furnace safety inspections build on the maintenance work its technicians already perform on its furnace service calls, including burner cleaning, heat exchanger checks, and full performance testing. The heat exchanger keeps combustion gases separate from the air that circulates through a home, and cracks or corrosion in that component are among the conditions technicians look for during an inspection. During each visit, technicians will also test the home’s carbon monoxide alarms and review whether their placement follows manufacturer guidance and state requirements.

In Illinois, the Carbon Monoxide Alarm Detector Act, in effect since January 1, 2007, requires every dwelling unit to have at least one approved, operating carbon monoxide alarm within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping. The CDC separately advises replacing detectors according to manufacturer instructions or every five years, and checking batteries when clocks change in the spring and fall. Daylight saving time ends on November 1 this year.

The company is pairing the heating checks with an electrical safety reminder tied to backup power, since winter outages often lead households to run portable generators. The CDC advises operating portable generators only outdoors, more than 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents, and never inside a home or garage, even with doors and windows open. Goodberlet’s licensed electricians install and repair home generators and install smoke detectors, and the company said technicians will discuss both with homeowners during heating season visits.

“Families should pay attention when the furnace starts running more this time of year,” said Rick Jensen, Director of Operations at Goodberlet Home Services. “A burner flame that looks yellow or flickers instead of burning a steady blue, soot around the furnace, or headaches and drowsiness that ease when everyone leaves the house are all reasons to have the system looked at. If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, the first step is to get everyone outside and call 911, and the furnace can be dealt with after that.”

Goodberlet Home Services was founded in 1982 and remains family-owned, providing HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services to residential and commercial customers from offices in Kankakee and Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, and Muncie, Indiana. The company serves more than 15,000 customers annually and offers 24/7 emergency repair. Goodberlet is a Lennox Premier Dealer, an A+ accredited business with the Better Business Bureau, a Weil-McLain and Peerless certified boiler contractor, a Certified Unico Contractor, a Samsung certified mini-split contractor, and a 2024 Quality Business Award winner.

More information is available at Goodberlet Home Services.

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For more information about Goodberlet Home Services, contact the company here:

Goodberlet Home Services
Rick Jensen
815-937-0189
info@goodberletheating.com
255 E Brookmont Blvd, Kankakee, IL 60901

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