By Jim McGaw

PORTSMOUTH — Lt. Dennis “D.J.” Canario knew the volunteers from Lawrence Air Systems would be arriving Saturday to replace his failing furnace.

What he didn’t expect — what he still can’t quite explain — was the phone call weeks earlier telling him he had been chosen for the company’s annual First Responder Appreciation giveaway. It came at the exact moment he was privately questioning whether he could continue in the fire service at all.

The Portsmouth firefighter, his wife Tori and their seven children welcomed nearly 20 volunteers from the Seekonk-based company who came with a brand-new furnace, hot-water heater, and cooling system — equipment worth more than $20,000, all free, and all installed in a single day.

For Lawrence Air Systems, it was the fifth year of its Fir

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