Detroit woman who heated home with stove and burners surprised with new appliances

DETROIT - Herrietta O'Neil was using her stove to warm her home when her story first aired. 

At least one person listening had just the idea to remedy the situation. Shayna Vanuden and Mastercraft Heating, Cooling, Plumping, and Electrical sprung into action.

"Our company has been very fortunate and it's just our way to give back to the community and help out," said Vanuden.

And on Saturday, they came out to help. 

O'Neil's previous source of heat was an open oven door and four stove burners. They were her only source of heat during some of the coldest weeks of the winter in Michigan. 

Her boiler and other appliances were ruined when her basement flooded during heavy rains in 2021. 

She'd been waiting for financial help from FEMA to get her appliances repaired. But it was a local Redford contractor that came to the rescue. 

An assessment by Mastercraft found the boiler could be fixed - it just needed to be rid of contaminants from the flood waters. 

In the meantime, she had space heaters set up to keep her warm - a far more efficient and safer manner of heating, as opposed to her stove and oven.

"I just can't thank you enough," she said. "If you all hadn't got on I would have never met her," said O'Neil. "So I'm thankful there are good people here in the world."

"This is something that we're hoping to continue to do in our community. We've been in Redford for 30+ years," said Vanuden. "We want to give back as much as we get in if not more."