Nov. 1–7 is Carbon Monoxide (CO) Awareness week in Saskatchewan. (Photo 55165362 © Cacrov | Dreamstime.com)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

Silent killer

Province, North Battleford advocate carbon monoxide awareness

Nov 5, 2021 | 6:00 AM

As Saskatchewan residents prepare for winter, doing a quick safety check is in everyone’s best interest.

The province designated November 1-7 as Carbon Monoxide (CO) Awareness Week to highlight the importance of CO safety and preventive measures. SaskEnergy – in partnership with the Technical Safety Authority of Saskatchewan (TSASK) and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) – has promoted CO safety tips through websites, social media posts and targeted media.

In a press release, Minister Responsible for SaskEnergy Don Morgan said the government is working to reduce the number of CO incidents and health issues that come with them.

“Through CO awareness campaigns, simple prevention steps, and recent amendments to The Uniform Building and Accessibility Standards Regulations, we can prevent these deadly events,” he said.

Each year, emergency personnel respond to approximately 1,300 calls related to CO in Saskatchewan. Between 2015 and 2019, a total of 16 deaths were recorded due to CO poisoning.

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This rings true for Prince Albert resident Garth Kalin. During one winter morning, he awoke to CO alarms from a buildup in his furnace room. He and his family were at risk of severe poisoning in an hour.

“Carbon monoxide alarms saved my family,” Kalin said. “Take time to go through some simple CO prevention steps to keep your home safe this winter.”

(City of North Battleford)

Common oversight

North Battleford Fire Chief Lindsay Holm echoed that stance during an interview with battlefordsNOW. He said it’s common to have people wait too long to check on their CO detectors, when it should be frequent for everyone to do so.

“It’s kind of like smoke alarms, they’re always there, but people tend to forget about them,” he said “Check them on a monthly basis, just like you would your smoke detector.”

“A lot of people don’t have it in home, but I really recommend everyone gets one.”

The province recently announced that smoke and CO alarms, or combination alarms of the two, will become mandatory for all residential buildings. Smoke alarms were previously only required for homes built since 1988, while CO alarms were needed for those built since 2009. Enforcement of this change begins July 1, 2022, to give owners time to have them installed.

Some communities in Saskatchewan have already required every occupied building have an CO alarm, including Meadow Lake.

Part of why it’s so critical is that carbon monoxide is colourless and odourless. Holm said this is a normal time of year for there to be potential issues.

“During the summer a lot of people aren’t using the furnaces, so when it gets cold, we tend to get a spike in calls,” he said. “They do tend to have false alarms, which means it is getting to the end of its useful life and needs replacing.”

Any residents who are worrying about the possible of a CO buildup can utilize the Fire Department.

“We have gas monitors if they have a concern with carbon monoxide,” Holm said. “We’ll make sure the air quality in their home is safe.”

For more information on CO safety and prevention tips, visit www.saskenergy.com and www.tsask.ca.

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

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