Delta’s fire chief is raising awareness about carbon monoxide poisoning.
Paul Schofield appeared as a delegation at Monday’s Delta council meeting seeking support to have the province mandate that all homes built prior to 2006 have carbon monoxide detectors.
“There have been a number of incidents throughout the province in the past few weeks,” said Schofield. “Carbon monoxide is often called the invisible killer. It’s a colourless, odourless gas that is highly toxic.”
He said carbon monoxide gas interferes with the body’s ability to transport oxygen through the blood.
Potential sources of carbon monoxide in the home are malfunctioning furnaces, leaking exhaust vents for gas appliances and fireplaces that aren’t properly vented.
“In Canada between 2000 and 2013 there were just under 5,000 deaths associated with carbon monoxide poisoning. On average, 300 people die per year in Canada,” he said. “The 2006 B.C. Building Code introduced requirements for battery operated carbon monoxide detectors in new homes that contained a fuel burning appliance or storage garage. There are no requirements for alarms for buildings built prior to this code change, so that means that most of the residents in the City of Delta are not mandated to have these alarms.”
He said the City of Vancouver, which operates under its own charter, is the only city in B.C. that mandates carbon monoxide detectors in all homes.
“B.C. fire chiefs have been pushing the province to make the retroactive installation of carbon monoxide detectors in all residences mandatory in B.C.,” he said. “I’m here today to strongly advocate that any Delta homes built prior to 2006 install a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector and not wait until this is mandated. These devices can save your life. I urge everyone to learn about the signs and learn about the dangers in your home.”
Schofield said the Delta Fire Department is launching social media and print media campaigns to raise awareness.
“The biggest takeaway from this is to get a carbon monoxide detector and if you have one, make sure you test it regularly,” he said.
Following the presentation, Coun. Dan Copeland put forward a motion, which was unanimously approved by council, that Mayor George Harvie write a letter to the province to advocate Delta’s strong support for having carbon monoxide detectors made mandatory for buildings built prior to 2006.
