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Tag: Carbon Monoxide

  • Is Your Home Safe From Carbon Monoxide?

    Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that can be deadly if inhaled in large amounts. It is produced when fuels such as wood, gasoline, propane, and natural gas burn incompletely. Because it is difficult to detect, CO poisoning can be a serious hazard, particularly in enclosed spaces such as homes and vehicles.  

    One of the most common sources of CO in homes is the furnace, which can produce the gas if it is not properly maintained or ventilated. Other sources of CO in homes include gas stoves, gas water heaters, and gas dryers. Wood stoves and fireplaces can also produce CO if they are not properly ventilated.  

    Symptoms of CO poisoning include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, and shortness of breath. In severe cases, it can lead to unconsciousness and death. Children, the elderly, and people with respiratory conditions are especially vulnerable to CO poisoning.  

    To protect your home and family from carbon monoxide poisoning, there are several steps you can take:

    1. Install and maintain CO detectors in your home, you can additionally consider a monitored CO system to protect your home while you’re away.  
    2. Keep your furnace, water heater, and other gas appliances in good working order, and have them inspected regularly by a qualified technician.  
    3. Make sure that your home is well-ventilated, particularly when using gas appliances.  
    4. Never use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.  
    5. Never leave a car running in an attached garage, even with the door open.  
    6. Avoid using portable fuel-burning appliances, such as camping stoves, inside your home or any other enclosed space.  

    By following these simple steps, you can help protect yourself and your family from the dangers of carbon monoxide. 

    Additionally, residents of rental properties should know about their landlord’s responsibility to maintain adequate carbon monoxide detection. To learn more about   Ontario carbon monoxide detection requirements, read here.

  • CO Detector Saved Local Family

    CO Detector Saved Local Family

    A Windsor Star article cites The Tecumseh Fire Rescue Service as crediting a carbon monoxide detector for saving a local family from tragedy.

    tfd

    Tecumseh Fire Chief Doug Pitre calls Carbon Monoxide the “silent killer.” He says that Carbon Monoxide makes you  feel nauseated or sluggish. “Some people attribute that to the flu,” Pitre said in the article. “You go to bed. And if it’s a large amount of CO in the house — you don’t wake up.”

    Pitre and a deputy chief responded to a 911 call on the 1200 block of Shawnee Road where a married couple with a four-month-old infant son lived. According to the report, the mother was already feeling like she had a headache when the home’s CO detector sounded an alarm.

    With her husband at work, she took herself and her child and to her parents’ place, while he came home to meet emergency responders

    Her husband — who had been at work — went to the address and waited outside to speak with emergency responders. That’s when Chief Pitre said they found a high reading at the home.

    Union Gas was contacted, and brought more sophisticated detection equipment. After a full search of the home, it was discovered that there was a “faulty connection” in the home’s furnace.

    The furnace was shut off, scheduled for repair and the mother and child sent to a medical clinic.

    Carbon Monoxide poisoning has been in the forefront of the local news recently after the death of an Amherstburg teenager earlier this month.

    The Tecumseh Fire Chief told the Star he deals with 50 to 60 calls about carbon monoxide per year. About eight of those calls turn out to involve a potentially harmful level of CO.

    carbon-monoxide-alarm

    It is now the law in Ontario for homes with gas burning appliances or attached garages to be equipped with a CO detector, as well as a smoke detector on every floor.  To ensure your home is compliant with the law, call 1-800-265-5317, or JUST CLICK HERE.

    Here’s the link to the Windsor Star article.