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Raising Carbon Monoxide Awareness

Sunday, 6 November 2016 07:23

The Hawkins-Gignac Foundation says close to 80% of homeowners have carbon monoxide detectors installed, but there is a still an education gap.

More people than ever are protecting their families by installing carbon monoxide alarms.

This comes from the Hawkins-Gignac Foundation - an organization advocating for carbon monoxide awareness.

Executive Director John Gignac says they have had a lot of success getting people on board over the last few years since the Hawkins-Gignac Act came into being.

"Since we've started we had 25%, and now we've got close to 80% of people paying attention. But everybody has to be aware of the fact that it's colourless, odourless, and tasteless, so without an alarm you're never going to know it's in your home."

The Hawkins-Gignac Act requires all homes with a source of carbon monoxide to install the alarms. It is named after Laurie Hawkins, her husband Richard, and their children Cassie and Jordan who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in December of 2008.

Gignac says now that more people have the alarms, the next step is making sure they are properly maintained.

"They only last for 10 years and everybody is not aware of that. The CO and the smoke alarms, whether it be hardwired, battery operated, or plug in; they have to be replaced every ten years."

To find out more about carbon monoxide and the work of the Hawkins-Gignac Foundation go to endthesilence.ca

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