Shattuck, 33, was in his fifth month of unemployment when the heat and hot water service was terminated at his home at 663 Main St. by AmeriGas on Dec. 20. AmeriGas sales and service manager Barry Crawford went to the Shattuck residence himself to tell the family he had to terminate service and take away their tank.

"I went to his house on Dec. 20 to talk about the safety issues," Crawford said. "There were other incidents in which our employees had talked to him about safety issues."

Shattuck said he altered the apparatus running to the AmeriGas propane tank by adding a gas grill tank to heat the hot water not his home. He couldn’t afford a refill from AmeriGas. When AmeriGas discovered the altered tank, they had to take it away although they left the Shattuck family with no heat.

Shattuck said he told AmeriGas he had fuel assistance, and a Rye church had paid their balance with the company. But AmeriGas still had to take the tanks.

"We don’t allow other people to alter our gas system," Crawford said. "When one of these systems is broken or reconnected in a different fashion, and it’s not done by a representative of AmeriGas, propane can have serious consequences if it doesn’t work properly. If I let the situation continue, there could have been a gas leak, an explosion, loss of home or even death."

Crawford said he talked to the Fremont Fire Department about the safety issue at the Shattuck household and the department agreed it was a safety concern. He added that there had been a record of financial and safety problems at the household for the past year.

Shattuck said the family has had a history of problems with AmeriGas. He said his wife came home one day to find the house filled with gas. An AmeriGas representative didn’t close the valve after filling the tank.

According the Better Business Bureau Web site, AmeriGas had 50 complaints filed nationwide, many for poor service and billing.

Shattuck said AmeriGas representatives never warned him what he was doing was wrong.

"I didn’t know it wasn’t allowed," he said. "He told us it was unsafe to do. He said it was a liability issue. People can dig into our pockets. I knew this was going to happen. The way our luck is going, I knew that would be expected. We’ve got kids. That’s the lowest and most inhumane thing you can do. We didn’t even owe them money. They told us that was the way it is."

Shattuck compared the situation to someone putting a plate of hot food in front of a homeless person and then quickly taking it away when he tried to take a bite.

Luckily the Shattuck family received the best Christmas present ever - heat. A woman called the family after a column in the Portsmouth Herald ran about the family’s unfortunate experience. The woman knew the owners of Proulx Oil and Propane in Newmarket and wanted to have them bring them propane immediately. The woman contacted President Jim Proulx about helping the family, but he already read the article and planned to help.

Proulx Propane and Oil arrived Christmas Eve with two tanks - so the family didn’t have to go week to week wondering if they will have heat. The company started an account for the family as well.

The family had been heating up water in the microwave to bathe, using space heaters and layers of clothing to keep warm, and cooking in a toaster oven.

"Our managers typically lean toward the customer especially during the holidays unless there is a financial or safety issue," said Gene Bissell, CEO of AmeriGas.

It is not illegal for propane or heating companies to leave families without heat in the winter if a safety issue is at the forefront, said Bissell.