Are carbon monoxide (CO) alarms installed and maintained in your home? How often do you test them? Do you know when your CO alarms should be replaced? What do you do if the CO alarm sounds?
If you don’t know the answer to one or more of these questions, you can learn more during Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week, which takes place Nov. 1 to 7. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that you cannot see, smell or taste.
“There is an increased risk of carbon monoxide poisoning during the colder months when we spend more time indoors using furnaces, gas heaters, and fireplaces,” said Barrie Fire Chief Cory Mainprize.
“The only way to detect carbon monoxide is with a working CO alarm. If your home has a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage, install a carbon monoxide alarm near each sleeping area; if you live in an apartment or condo building and there is a fuel-burning appliance inside your unit, install a carbon monoxide alarm near your sleeping area.”
Vehicles running in an attached garage, generators running in an attached garage or near open doors, windows or air intake vents can also produce dangerous levels of CO. Generators should be operated outside only — never run one inside a home, garage, basement, crawl space or shed.
Never burn charcoal in fireplaces or barbecue grills inside homes or in semienclosed areas. Proper installation, operation, and maintenance of fuel-burning appliances is an important factor in reducing the risk of CO poisoning.
A CO alarm will alert you when dangerous levels of CO are inside your home. A working alarm will ring loudly, giving you and your family the early warning you need to get out.
CO alarms can warn you about sudden failures of fuel-burning appliances and are a good first line of defence against CO exposure. If you or anyone else in your home has symptoms of CO poisoning, or your CO alarm sounds, make sure that everyone leaves the home immediately and call 911.
Barrie Fire and Emergency Service staff will be on hand at The Home Depot, 10 Barrie View Dr., on the following dates:
• Thursday, Nov. 2 from 2 to 4:30 p.m.
• Monday, Nov. 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information on carbon monoxide alarms, visit barrie.ca/FireSafetyEquipment.