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By Jesse Gill

WHAT TO KNOW

How to stay safe from carbon monoxide

Dec 2, 2024 | 4:58 PM

Carbon monoxide detectors are an important defense to keep you and your pets safe in your home from the odourless, colourless gas that can lead to illness or even death.

Kelli Ireland, life safety educator with Medicine Hat Fire and Emergency Services, said without a properly working detector, it is hard to know if there is a buildup of carbon monoxide in your home.

“If we are running our furnace and our wood-burning fireplace or our cars in our garages and you do feel sick similar to flu-like symptoms, you can get dizzy. You can start getting nauseous. You can start vomiting,” Ireland said.

“It’s very dangerous. It’s important to get outside and call 9-1-1 immediately,” she added.

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“The fire department will come and we will check the levels of your home to make sure that it’s safe to go back inside.”

Ireland said during the colder months the furnaces are working overtime.

It’s recommended to have a carbon monoxide detector outside of every bedroom in your home.

It’s important that it’s not expired either, smoke detectors generally have a 10-year life cycle before they lose efficiency, with some having a combination carbon monoxide detector as part of the unit.

Stand alone carbon monoxide detectors have varying lifespans, that can be as short as five years, and it’s advised to test them regularly.

Having a professional inspecting anything that could lead to carbon monoxide issues is another good preventative measure.

Ireland said this is especially important during the colder months.

“If they’re running a wood burning fireplace or when we turn on our furnaces again for the winter months that they are having them inspected,” Ireland said.

“We recommend getting an inspection annually. That way it make sure that the furnaces are working properly and that we don’t run into any issues where we have carbon monoxide build up in the home.”

Checking vents on the sides of homes to make sure cooler temperatures don’t lead to ice build up, preventing the gas from leaving your home is also important, to avoid issues with Carbon Monoxide.

There is more information online through the City of Medicine Hat’s website.