Carbon Monoxide Alarms Now Required in Homes Carbon Monoxide Alarms Now Required in Homes Beat the Silent Killer: CO Awareness Week is November 1-7, 2014 Effective immediately, Ontario Regulation 194-14 is in full force with respect to the installation and maintenance of Carbon Monoxide Alarms. Certain types of buildings need to have Carbon Monoxide Alarms installed if those buildings contain a Fuel Burning Appliance or a Fireplace, or have attached to them a storage garage. EASY CHECK LIST You NEED to install Carbon Monoxide Alarm(s) in your building if: the building contains a residential occupancy AND one or more of the following exists in or as part of the building: a Fuel Burning Appliance a Fireplace attached to it a Storage Garage Question / Answer Q) What does this mean to ME? A) This means that you may need to install a Carbon Monoxide Alarm(s) in your home, cottage, etc. Q) What kind of building needs to have Carbon Monoxide Alarms? A) All buildings that contain within them a Residential Occupancy, need to have a Carbon Monoxide Alarm(s). A residential occupancy means ANY building that has a place for a person or persons to sleep, whether permanent or temporary, such as: a home, camp, cabin, trappers cabin, bunkie, loft over a garage or boathouse, apartment building, seniors buildings, retirement homes, etc. FURTHER, all buildings that contain a Residential Occupancy and have attached to them a Storage Garage, designed for, or able to be used to store or park within it a motor vehicle, must have a Carbon Monoxide Alarm(s). This would include the loft over a boathouse. Q) What kind of appliances or devices are included in the requirements to install Carbon Monoxide Alarms? A) If your building contains a fuel burning appliance or a fireplace you will need to ensure you have properly installed & working Carbon Monoxide Alarm(s). Q) What is a “Fuel Burning Appliance or a Fireplace”? A) A Fuel Burning Appliance means any appliance that burns any type of fuel through combustion. This includes, but is not limited to: stoves, furnaces, hot water heaters, space heaters, lights, dryers, wood stoves, ovens & grills. Fuel includes, but is not limited to: WOOD, PROPANE, NATURAL GAS, WOOD PELLETS, FUEL OIL, CORN PELLETS, PEAT MOSS, NAPTHA, kerosene. A Fireplace is any area or device, vented or not, that is designed to, or capable of, burning any type of Fuel. Q) Where should I install the Carbon Monoxide Alarm(s)? A) For residential occupancies with fuel burning appliances or a fireplace, a carbon monoxide alarm shall be installed adjacent to each sleeping area. In the case where there is a storage garage, a carbon monoxide alarm shall be installed adjacent to each sleeping area of the residential occupancy that has a common wall or common floor/ceiling assembly with the storage garage. Simply put, the required location for a Carbon Monoxide Alarm is just outside the bedrooms. If there is more than one area in the house/building that has a bedroom or bedrooms such as bedrooms on different levels, or in different sections of the house, you will need to install Carbon Monoxide Alarms in each level and or section where there are bedrooms. Q) How do I install a Carbon Monoxide Alarm? A) Carbon Monoxide Alarms can be any of the following types: Permanently wired in, plugged into a wall electrical outlet, or battery operated. A Carbon Monoxide Alarm shall be mechanically fixed, attached, plugged in, or placed at the manufacturer’s recommended height. If the manufacturer has not recommended a height, then it shall be on or near the ceiling. Q) Who can answer my questions or assist me with the installation of Carbon Monoxide Alarms, if I need help to determine where, or how to install them? A) For residents of the Municipality of Huron Shores, simply call the Municipal office (705) 843-2033 and a member of the Huron Shores Fire Department will be glad to help you out and answer any questions you may have. G.J. (Gib) Medve, Fire Chief Huron Shores Fire Department For more CO safety tips, please visit the Fire Department page of this site, ontario.ca/firemarshal and COsafety.ca.