Nancy Doerhoefer has 17 grandchildren, volunteers at St. Olaf Church and lives in a two-bedroom house on 10th Street in northwest Austin.

On Saturday, she was one of 25 to 30 local homeowners chosen for a free furnace check as part of the “Heat’s On” awareness program, which was started 23 years ago in the Twin Cities.

This weekend was the first year for Austin, and the local program was made possible through Harty Mechanical Inc. and the Minnesota Mechanical Contractors Association.

“It’s going good,” said Harty Mechanical’s Ken Roche Saturday. “Everybody’s half done.”

Roche emphasized the importance of having your furnace checked and cleaned as a safety precaution, especially before the winter.

“It’s very important,” he said.

Any repairs needed Saturday were taken care of by Harty Mechanical, and even the fire department chipped in by offering smoke detectors to those who needed them.

“I think it’s a good idea, yes,” Doerhoefer said, of the program that was offered to certain elderly, low-income and disabled residents.