April 15, 2015 - As of today it is the law to install carbon monoxide alarms in your home if you have a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage.  The law will be enforced by Thunder Bay Fire Rescue. Failure to comply with the CO alarm requirements could result in a $360 ticket or a fine of up to $50,000 for individuals or $100,000 for corporations. 

"If your home has a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage, you must have a working CO alarm adjacent to each sleeping area of the home," said Fire Chief John Hay.  "Thunder Bay Fire Rescue wants to make sure everyone is safe from CO.  Only a carbon monoxide alarm can alert you to its presence."

The Ontario Fire Code was amended October 15, 2014 to require CO alarms after the provincial government passed Bill 77 - the Hawkins Gignac Act, in December 2013. Bill 77 is named after OPP Constable Laurie Hawkins, who died, along with her husband and two children, in her Woodstock, ON home from CO poisoning in 2008. The regulations take effect today.

The Ontario Fire Code also requires that in condo and apartment buildings with a service room, CO alarms must be installed in the service room and adjacent to each sleeping area of all homes above, below and beside the service room. In condo or apartment buildings that have a garage, CO alarms must be installed adjacent to each sleeping area of all homes above, below and beside the garage. Owners of residential buildings with more than six suites have until October 15, 2015 to comply with the new CO regulations.

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Contact:  Anthony Stokaluk, Public Education Officer - Thunder Bay Fire Rescue, 625-2802, cell 631-7033 or astokaluk@thunderbay.ca