The dangers of carbon monoxyde and recommendations

Even slight exposure to carbon monoxide can cause serious health problems. CO is so dangerous because it accumulates quickly in the blood, reducing its ability to carry oxygen throughout the body.

Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Know how to identify them:

• Slight exposure: flu-like symptoms, such as headache, runny nose, eye irritation, etc.
• Moderate exposure: sleepiness, dizziness, vomiting. A feeling of disorientation and confusion may make it difficult for some people to make rational decisions, such as leaving the building or calling for help.
• Severe exposure: fainting, brain damage, death.

Preventing Carbon Monoxide Emissions during Your Stay?

The establishment regularly has combustion equipment checked and cleaned by a qualified technician to guarantee that it’s in good working order.

However, to ensure your safety, respecting the following recommendations is mandatory:

• Make sure air supply is sufficient to ensure adequate combustion (leave a window or door ajar).
• Do not heat your accommodation unit using the burners or oven of a propane or gas stove.
• Do not use a gas-powered fondue pot indoors.
• Do not overheat a woodstove.
• Never remove a carbon monoxide or smoke detector from its installation site, and never remove the batteries or connections.

What to When Confronted With an Obvious Source of CO?

When your CO detector sets off an alarm, Public Safety recommends that you:

• Evacuate all occupants from the accommodation unit and count the number of people who have been evacuated
• If someone exhibits flu-like symptoms, call 9-1-1
• Remove or extinguish the source of carbon monoxide (if the origin is known)
• Air out the accommodation unit
• Restart the detector
• Do not re-enter the accommodation unit before the alarm stops
• Take measures to prevent the situation from reoccurring
• Report the incident to a person responsible for the establishment as soon as possible.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Like smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors are the guardians of your health. Often, when several devices (lamps, oven, furnace) are operating at the same time, the acceptable level of carbon monoxide may be exceeded, setting off the detector’s alarm.

Make Sure Your Accommodation Unit is Well Ventilated

Good ventilation in your accommodation unit is essential because:

• In the event of low levels of combustion pollutants in the room, ventilation will ensure good air quality.
• If there are unusually high levels of pollutants in the room, ventilation will limit their accumulation, and thereby the risk of accidents.

It is prohibited to plug air vents. New air should come in through the lower vents and stale air should go out through the upper vents.