Homeowners reminded CO alarms mandatory in some homes, more residential buildings added in 2015: IBC

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is reminding homeowners every home has something that poses a carbon monoxide (CO) threat and that alarms are now mandatory in homes with a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage.

“Having a CO alarm will help protect families and save lives,” Ralph Palumbo, IBC’s vice president, Ontario, notes in a bureau statement.

Palumbo made the comments in IBC’s statement Friday that it was donating 200 CO alarms to the Hamilton Fire Department to help improve public safety.

“In Ontario, more than 80% of injuries and deaths from CO occur in the home,” Hamilton Fire Chief Rob Simonds says, adding that the donation “supports our goal of installing CO alarms to protect vulnerable citizens in their homes.”

The requirement for homes with a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage to be equipped with a CO alarm – an amendment to Ontario’s Fire Code – came into force Oct. 15 following passage of the so-called Hawkins Gignac Act in Dec. 2013.

Looking ahead, single-family homeowners and owners of residential buildings that contain no more than six suites have until Apr. 15, 2015 to comply with the new requirements, while owners of residential buildings with more than six suites must be in compliance by Oct 15, 2015.

In late November, IBC welcomed the move by the Ontario legislature to pass the bill making CO detectors mandatory in homes.

The bill was based on Progressive Conservative MPP Ernie Hardeman’s private member’s bill. “Carbon monoxide is the silent killer – it’s colourless, odourless, and tasteless,” Hardeman said in an IBC statement issued at the time, adding that “you can’t detect the gas without a functioning detector.”