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EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this story contained information that Global News has chosen not to report as per Journalistic Principles and Practices.

Adrienne Gnam has lived in her southwest Calgary home for over 50 years. The 81-year-old knows all her neighbours and she feels safe there. Or she did, until now.

On Oct. 28, someone came in through the back gate of her house, disabled the neighbour’s security light and broke into the garage.

Once inside, they hauled out her 15-year-old Carrier gas furnace.

“Disbelief. How could this be?” Gnam said on Monday. “Who would do this to me? I am quiet and I don’t cause any problems in the neighbourhood. Why would they do that?”

Police responded to the break-in call, and the Calgary Fire Department attended because there were concerns about the furnace disconnection — but it turns out the thieves did a good job.

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“They knew what they were doing. [Fire department members] felt they knew what they were doing, that they did have knowledge,” Gnam said.

Gnam said she feels violated, adding that she doesn’t even walk her dog at night anymore.

“I don’t really feel safe in my home now because I live alone. I find that I am doubling up, and I go around every night and make sure everything is locked because I’m afraid, quite frankly,” Gnam said.

Electric heaters are going full blast in the garage now. The place needs heat to keep the water pipes from freezing.

Gnam said the insurance deductable would be $1,000, and a new furnace would cost even more.

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“It has left me with a big bill — one I can’t afford,” Gnam said.

She hopes the person who took the furnace and an artificial Christmas tree that was beside it doesn’t have a frozen heart. She wants the thief to know how the crime has affected her and hopes another senior doesn’t become a victim.