As the cold weather prompts people to fire up their fireplaces and wood stoves, the London Fire Department is reminding the public to take precautions to avoid deadly carbon monoxide poisoning.
The advice comes ahead of Ontario's Carbon Monoxide (CO) Awareness Week, which runs from November 1 to 7.
"You can't see it, you can't taste it, you can't smell it. It is the silent killer and the only way you will hear it is if you have a working carbon monoxide alarm," said Acting Deputy Fire Chief Jack Burt. "Carbon monoxide alarms are required in any home that has a fuel-burning appliance, a wood stove or an attached garage."
Exposure to CO can cause flu-like symptoms including headache, dizziness, drowsiness, and nausea. It is the number one cause of preventable poisoning death in North America.
Under the Hawkins Gignac Act, which came into law in October 2014, all homes with fuel-burning appliances or attached garages are required to have working CO alarms installed outside of all sleeping areas and on each level of the home. The provincial legislation was named in honour of OPP Constable Laurie Hawkins, her husband, and two children, who died in their Woodstock home from CO poisoning in 2008.
It is against the law to disable a CO alarm and failure to install one can result in fines that range between $360 to $50,000 for individuals and up to $100,000 for landlords.
“Be sure to test your alarms and check the manufacturer’s instructions on when they should be replaced as they only last five to ten years," said Burt. "If your CO alarm does go off, make sure you get out of your house and call 911 and we will come check."
Fire officials also add it is important for people to have any fuel-burning appliances inspected annually by a registered contractor.
To help increase awareness of the life-saving device, firefighters will be holding several events throughout the week.
"We are going to be at one of the local building centres on Saturday where we are going to have a display. We are going to be going door-to-door on Monday in the Wharncliffe Road and Oxford Street area in partnership with Kidde Canada, where we are actually going to be giving people free alarms if they require them," said Burt.
For more information about carbon monoxide alarms click here.
