Kirsten Larsen
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jan 29/99) - Homeowners and renters that inquire about or think to install carbon monoxide detectors in their residences are a minority in Yellowknife.

Mike Lowing, a deputy fire chief for the Yellowknife fire department, suspects that only one out of five residences in the city have carbon monoxide detectors installed. In Lowing's opinion, that's not enough.

"Everyone should have one," said Lowing.

Potentially harmful levels of carbon monoxide were found in six residences which the fire department responded to in December. One of the two residents who called the detachment this month when their detectors went off was surprised to discover that carbon monoxide had been leaking into the house from the attached garage.

Lowing said that it is common for the weather stripping or improperly-sealed doors on attached garages to pose a considerable problem of carbon monoxide emissions in the home. Four out of the six homes which the department tested for carbon monoxide in December had the same problem.

Lowing suggested the garage door should be open when the vehicle is running and the main entrance door connecting to the house should be properly sealed. As an extra precaution, he suggested that vehicles with command start should have the cold temperature function turned off when they are parked in the garage.

"When the temperature drops to a certain point outside and in the garage, some (vehicles with the function) will start up in the middle of the night when people are sleeping," said Lowing.

Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless and tasteless. It is produced by any type of combustion, whether it's a propane furnace, a wood-burning fireplace or stove or a range-top stove. Although collapsed furnace chimneys are one of the common ways that carbon monoxide can become trapped in the home, the homes in the North have other potential hazards.

The energy-efficient, air-tight homes in the North trap the heat in, thus relying on mechanical air exchangers or air circulators which also work via combustion. If those malfunction, carbon monoxide can quickly build up in the home. Fireplaces draw air from outside but can also become plugged up.

Lowing said renters and homeowners should be aware of the hazards and have systems in their homes regularly inspected.

Carbon monoxide can affect some people more quickly and at lower levels than others. Children, the elderly and people with asthma, for instance, can be affected by carbon monoxide levels of 50 to 100 parts per million, whereas healthy adults may start to feel the effects at 300 parts per million. Low levels of 50 parts per million are considered dangerous for people who are in the presence of it for more than eight hours.

Accompanying the headaches and flu-like symptoms that are associated with carbon monoxide poisoning is a loss of ability to think properly and disorientation.

"It's the confusion that is the reason why people don't get out," said Lowing. "In house fires it's the carbon monoxide that usually kills the person, not the fire."

Carbon monoxide detectors are not as expensive as they were when they first went out on the market. There are a variety of products offering options, like low level detectors for the elderly and children, electrically-operated detectors with battery back-up, as well as digital screens and all sorts of perks.

Lowing suggested that the detectors be installed where the occupants of the house can hear them if they go off.

"Outside the entrance to each bedroom, just like smoke detectors," said Lowing. "If it goes off you should do exactly what you do with the fire alarm. Get out and call the fire department."