Alberta tenant calls for building code changes after carbon monoxide scare

An Edmonton woman taken to hospital after being exposed to carbon monoxide at home is calling for changes to the Alberta building code to mandate alarms in all residences.

Yamilé López was one of seven people taken to hospital early on Feb. 7 after paramedics and firefighters discovered high levels of the colourless, odourless toxic gas in the basement of her Ritchie apartment building, which was built in the 1970s.

The company that owns the building told CBC that a carbon monoxide detector it had installed on the ground floor activated but was disabled by a tenant who thought it was a false alarm. 

The incident was among dozens of cases of unintentional CO poisoning Edmonton firefighters have responded to this year. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, accidental carbon monoxide poisoning killed 64 people in Alberta from 2020 until 2023.

Breathing in carbon monoxide reduces the body's ability to carry oxygen in the blood. At high levels, it can cause convulsions, loss of consciousness, coma and death.

López, who didn't have a carbon monoxide detector in her apartment, says legislation mandating the devices in all residential dwellings in Alberta could prevent more poisonings and deaths.

"It will save lives for sure," she said.

Building code not retroactive

Carbon monoxide alarms are mandatory for new builds, additions and alterations in Alberta, and have been since the province's 2006 building code came into effect in 2007. 

But the code is not retroactive, so older buildings, like López's apartment in Ritchie, do not require them.

Yukon was the first jurisdiction in Canada to make the devices mandatory in all residences, in 2013.

Later that year, Ontario passed the Hawkins Gignac Act, named after Ontario Provincial Police Const. Laurie Hawkins.

Hawkins, her husband and their two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning in their Woodstock, Ont., home in 2008.

Saskatchewan announced in 2021 that it would be mandating the alarms the next year.

CBC News asked if the Alberta government was considering mandating carbon monoxide detectors in all residences.

Scott Johnston, press secretary for Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver, said Albertans are welcome to retrofit their homes with alarms.

Headaches before bed

López said she and her wife, Carla Ferret, went to bed at 9 p.m. on Feb. 6 with headaches, figuring they had picked up an illness during a recent trip.

Paramedics arrived after 12:30 a.m. and their detectors signalled carbon monoxide in the building. A few minutes later, they requested help from firefighters, who also detected CO in the building and worked to get everyone out.

López said she later learned from a doctor at the Misericordia Community Hospital that someone else in the building had called 911 after feeling unwell.

Five adults, one youth and a senior were taken to hospital in stable, non-life-threatening condition, an Alberta Health Services spokesperson told CBC News.

Paramedics gave López oxygen outside the apartment building, she said. An ambulance took her to the Misericordia. Ferret drove to the hospital herself.

The cause of the problem appeared to be a plugged air intake, said Kurt Kadatz, a spokesperson for ATCO, which also responded to the incident. He said clear intakes ensure there is adequate air supply to fuel-burning appliances like natural gas boilers and furnaces.

How common are CO scares?

Firefighters in Edmonton responded to 38 accidental CO calls between Jan. 1 and Feb. 25 of this year, according to Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS).

From 2020 until 2023, the number of accidental CO calls per year in the city has ranged from 79 to 112, the fire department said.

Data from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program, a surveillance system capturing injuries and poisonings reported in 21 emergency departments across Canada, found there were 767 unintentional CO-related events between April 1, 2011, and June 15, 2023.

Nearly two-thirds of the incidents occurred during fall and winter, and nearly 11 per cent of cases were work-related.

Vehicle emission, smoke/fire and barbecues were the most common sources of CO exposure reported, accounting for more than one-third of identified cases. The majority of cases, however, did not have a reported source.

An EFRS spokesperson told CBC News that carbon monoxide events typically occur in the colder months when more appliances, like furnaces and other heaters, are being used.

Snowed-in ventilation poses another risk of carbon monoxide building up during the winter months, the spokesperson said.

A provincial government health website says CO detectors are a backup safety measure and do not replace the need to check fuel-burning appliances regularly.

Calls for mandatory CO detectors

A 2017 report by the BC Injury and Prevention Unit for the University of the Fraser Valley called for alarms to be required in all dwellings — a policy also supported by national injury-prevention charity Parachute.

"People are going to be motivated because it's the right thing to do, and then there are others who will be motivated by the fact that it's mandatory and they will be subject to an inspection to make sure they have taken that step," said Pamela Fuselli, Parachute's president and CEO. 

Fuselli said CO is a leading cause of unintentional poisoning deaths in Canada.

Legislation is often the lever that leads to action, she said, especially for renters, who may not have control over their environments.

The Safety Codes Council, an independent regulatory body in Alberta, recommends installing CO alarms in all existing homes.

A group of Calgary mothers petitioned for legislative change six years ago after 12-year-old Trai Schlichter died of carbon monoxide poisoning at a condo in Airdrie, Alta.

Trai's mother said she does not understand why preventable CO poisonings keep happening in Alberta and elsewhere.

"It's a very small effort made on the owner, on the landlord, on the legislation itself to implement those kinds of acts," Elysha Schlichter said.

Alarm deactivated

The land title certificate for the Ritchie apartment building at 9908 79th Ave. lists Collins Properties Ltd. of Camrose as the owner.

A corporate registry search lists Jacqueline Collins-Lovely and Jack Goohsen as the company's two directors. Jackie Lovely is the United Conservative Party MLA for Camrose.

A statement sent to CBC News from Collins Properties said that on the night of the incident, a carbon monoxide detector installed by the company on the ground floor activated but was disabled by a tenant who believed it to be a false alarm. 

The company declined to disclose the alarm's specific location, citing privacy for the tenant. 

"In response to this and some of the concerns we heard from tenants, we immediately purchased carbon monoxide detectors for every unit in the building," the company said.

López said she and her neighbours received the detectors.

According to a City of Edmonton database, the apartment building was built in 1975. The company said the building has 17 units but not all are occupied.

Collins Properties told CBC News on March 11 that although it was not legally required to, it has reimbursed tenants for their ambulance bills.

"I fully appreciate the distressing situation that these tenants went through and am pleased that the company is taking action to address their safety and financial concerns," Jackie Lovely said in a statement.

López and Ferret moved to a different apartment building earlier this month. Their unit did not have a carbon monoxide alarm so they installed their own.

Health Canada recommends putting the detectors in hallways, outside of sleeping areas, and testing them regularly.