ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Icicles on the awnings in the St. Louis area indicate a not-so-good time to be without heat. But that’s what brought Contact 2 to a south city apartment building.

“We’re just trying to get the heat turned on, and we’re at the mercy of Spire,” south St. Louis landlord Scott Jerome said.

Jerome says he called Spire last Wednesday to have the gas meters unlocked and service turned on for three of the units in the four-family flat he owns.

“They said it would be next Wednesday, after Thanksgiving, before they could get out and turn the gas on. They said because of the holiday weekend there was a shortage of servicemen. I said ‘Well, there’s no heat. This is serious to me,’” he said.

With the drastic drop in temperature and a new tenant trying to move in, Jerome called Contact 2 for help. We shared his concerns with Spire. Less than an hour later, while we were interviewing him, the gas company called him with good news.

“He said we’re going to get a technician over there in a little while,” he said.

Less than two hours after we first contacted Spire on Jerome’s behalf, we watched as a pair of Spire workers arrived to get the gas service up and running.

A Spire spokesperson tells us state regulators require new service requests be completed within three business days. Scott’s Nov. 27 request was followed by Thanksgiving and Black Friday, a Spire employee holiday–that meant Monday is the first day of that window.

Spire says it always has crews to respond to emergency situations and encourages customers to call if they smell gas. While Spire can’t guarantee it will expedite regular service calls, they work to accommodate customers when resources, staffing, and schedules allow.

“I appreciate you guys helping out. You guys are the greatest. Thank you. I appreciate it,” Jerome said.

A quick change of fortune and temperature to sweeten a bitter cold day.