Certified for safety: Carbon Monoxide detectors

2009-12-23

It’s a tragedy that could so easily have been prevented.

In December of 2008, a family of four in Woodstock, ON, died of carbon monoxide poisoning when the exhaust vent of their home’s gas fireplace became blocked from years of build-up. Emergency officials say a carbon monoxide detector in the home would probably have alerted the family to the presence of the invisible and odourless gas, and allowed them time to escape safety.

Unfortunately, as winter approaches, and more people turn on their furnaces and stoke their fireplaces in the face of cold weather, fire and health workers see an increase in the number of people who have been exposed to carbon monoxide (CO).

The gas is a by-product of burning wood or petroleum fuels, and can build up in homes with poor ventilation or where the vents or flues of furnaces or chimneys are dirty and blocked. Inhaling the gas can affect the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to the brain and other organs. Exposure, even in low levels, can cause health problems such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, confusion and fatigue. Higher levels of CO can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, impaired vision, convulsions, coma and, eventually, death.

David Hodgins, the president of Fire Prevention Canada - a non-profit organization focused on fire prevention and education in Canada says CO is known as a silent killer, because it is odourless and colourless, and people who are exposed to the gas can’t immediately tell they have been affected.

He says his organization urges homeowners to do two vital things to ensure their safety from carbon monoxide poisoning: have a licensed technician inspect their furnaces and fireplaces each year to ensure exhaust can sufficiently flow out of the building; and install a working CO detector certified by Underwriter’s Laboratories of Canada (ULC) or CSA Standards.

These alarms detect the presence of CO when levels are still below the level that will make a normal adult sick. When a working CO detector – in addition to a fire alarm or smoke detector – is placed near a home’s sleeping areas, it significantly increases the chances that a family will escape any effects of CO poisoning.

Both ULC and CSA Standards – companies that are accredited as product certification bodies for alarm and warning systems by the Standards Council of Canada – test CO detectors against the National Standard of Canada for Residential Carbon Monoxide Alarming Detectors (CAN/CSA 6.19-01). Only alarms that are tested and meet the requirements of this standard carry the ULC or CSA certification mark.

“We know carbon monoxide is a silent killer,” says Rae Dulmage, the Standards Director at ULC. “When people choose a carbon monoxide detector with a certification mark, it tells them this detector has been tested, it meets the standard for these detectors, and that it meets the requirements that are in place to protect the health and safety of Canadians.”

Hodgins agrees that detectors should carry a certification mark to show they have been tested.

“It’s absolutely important, because with so many products on the market that are sub-par, it’s necessary to have that mark, to show the product meets the required standard,” he says. “You need to ensure that the product does what it’s supposed to do, especially when it comes to life safety.”

Fire Prevention Canada recommends homeowners install a carbon monoxide detector outside sleeping areas of the home, and on each level of the structure. As with smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors need regular maintenance to work properly. Homeowners should replace the detector’s batteries twice a year (at the beginning and end of daylight savings time, for example), and press the test button each month, to see if the alarm is working.

And should the detector’s alarm sound, residents of the home should take it seriously. Residents should immediately open windows and doors for ventilation, and then go outdoors, to an area with a flow of fresh air. After ensuring that everyone who was inside the house is out, residents should then call for help, and stay outdoors or in another safe location (such as a neighbour’s house) until emergency workers arrive.

“At this time of year, especially in Canada with its cold climate and when we start to seal up our homes against the cold, air quality can be a problem,” says Hodgins. “Any home that doesn’t have a working carbon monoxide detector, its occupants are at risk. And really, one death is too many.”

For more information:

Fire Prevention Canada: www.fiprecan.ca

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