Originally published at: Couple attempts to steal furnace but cause gas leak that knocks them unconscious | Boing Boing
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Something, something, stupid games; something, stupid prizes…
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I can’t imagine that there’s a lot of value or secondary market for used furnaces. What was the end game here? Did their furnace die, and they almost died trying to get a free one?
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Oh Canada…
Not ever day the USA can point at Canada and claim superiority, for like a minute.
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I’m sure some asshole in the USA was stealing copper wire from a hospital or elementary school has near-electrocuted himself in the time frame that this was happening, so I’d suggest we just let Canada let this one slide.
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Ok, but I’m going to keep a sharp eye on our Northern cousins.
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Steal the furnace? That’s for chumps; steal gas. If they can pay for gas, about two months worth would pay for a furnace 
Many years ago I bought a house that had been owned by a guy who worked for the local gas utility. There were many small gas heaters in the place, including the garage and an outbuilding. When time came to replace the back fence, I hit a buried pipe running under the existing postholes. “What’s this” , I thought. I had already had the gas mainline flagged by the callB4udig people, and it ran straight through the yard. I looked at the outbuilding heaters and realized they had and “in” pipe and an “out” pipe, with a valve on it. Buddy had a second gas line going from there along the fence, and teeing off the main feed. Open the “out” valve, close the mainline feed at the house; profit! I got the utility to dig up the hidden line, but they were unwilling to talk about the shunt. “You guys realize this guy was stealing gas for years, right?” … "no Bro, it’s cool, say no more ". 
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a few years ago I tried to get a furnace gas relay replaced…couldn’t get parts . For a while every time I went past a house with a teardown in progress I’d check the furnace for parts…ultimately pointless though, the insurance company was about to do the “isn’t it time you replaced your furnace and water heater” thing. New furnace is better and cheaper to operate anyway.
EDIT: word missing
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Ah! My hometown! Always entertaining what folks are trying to steal around here.
We’re coming up on prime snowblower theft season too!
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We sure have some dumb criminals around here.
It is possible WPS was being generous, making it seems like these two had an actual plan. If you are impaired and see a copper wire, somewhere in the brain the idea of copper=$$ pops up, and no matter how unprepared you are, how unable you are… you’ll climb that telephone pole and try to rip the cable with your bare hands.
The mind goes from A to Z and doesn’t factor in anything between.
Odd they weren’t charged, but I get it - likely weren’t capable of forming criminal intent.
I mean they’re obviously idiots. It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to look for the gas shutoff before trying to disconnect a furnace. I’ve been impaired many a time and I can assure you the idea of cutting wire out of a live line (telecom included) has never ever crossed my mind. Now I’m glad I’ve also never needed to either, but I can’t imagine a situation even where I was desperate and needed money where I would put life and limb at risk… I mean when all those juicy cat-converters and snowblowers in people’s driveways why steal a furnace!!! lol
Oh yeah, not to mention bicycles… which I had one stolen out of my garage 3 months ago…
Probably because it might be common as hell among those who know how to do such and they wish no public attention thank you.
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Punch line: Gaslighting
Make your own joke I can’t be bothered.
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So fucking lucky that nothing touched off that gas! The fridge, gas water heater, a nice fat static spark, etc, and they’d have been found in a messy vacant lot.
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Ya, that was the impression I had 
The way he had it setup could have resulted in a neighbourhood levelling disaster, though.
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