(NC) – A new national poll by Ipsos Reid has found that 16 per cent of homeowners with a potential source of carbon monoxide in their home admit to not having a carbon monoxide alarm.
The finding is troubling to safety officials who note that the coming cold weather season peaks the potential for CO exposure as gas, oil or propane furnaces, fireplaces, wood stoves and other fuel-fired devices are once again pressed into service.
Regionally, those in Atlantic Canada (31 per cent) and Quebec (30 per cent) are most likely to not have a carbon monoxide alarm installed in their home, followed by those living in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (23 per cent), Alberta (22 per cent), British Columbia (15 per cent) and Ontario (6 per cent).
The low showing in Ontario is actually good News: it suggests that province’s new mandatory carbon monoxide alarm law, which came into effect in November of last year is having a positive impact.
“It is encouraging to see so many people protecting themselves from the silent killer,” says John Gignac, co-executive director of the Hawkins-Gignac Foundation for CO Education which commissioned the poll.
“I’d like to say to those who need one but still have not installed a CO alarm: Wake up and protect your family.”
Carbon monoxide is called the silent killer because humans cannot see, smell or taste it.
Data from the online poll suggests that confusion remains about the lifespan of a CO alarm. Most (72 per cent) say they know the device has a lifespan but are unclear as to when to replace it.
Just under one-third believe the CO alarm lifespan is beyond what is recommended by manufacturers or they simply don’t know. All CO alarms must be replaced after seven to 10 years.
Equally worrisome is that 11 per cent of homeowners with CO alarms say the alarms are more than 11 years old or they have no idea of the age.
With alarm replacement such an important issue, safety standards changed in 2009 to require all carbon monoxide and combination smoke/CO alarms to sound an intermittent end-of-life warning when the unit is approaching its replacement date.
More safety tips can be found on the web sites www.safeathome.ca and www.endthesilence.ca.
