A large emergency response to a southeast Calgary condo complex forced close to 30 people from their homes on Thursday, when high levels of carbon monoxide were detected in the building.
The Calgary Fire Department says it first got the call to the complex at 4957 – 130th Ave. S.E. around 11:30 a.m.
“Our crews did assessments on arrival and found that we had elevated levels of carbon monoxide in the lobby, in some common places, approaching 600 ppm, ” said Battalion Chief Keith Stahl.
Stahl says that’s when crews made the decision to evacuate all 48 units in the building.
The vice president of the buildings condo board, Evelyn Alvares, says there is a CO monitor “in one of the storage rooms and it was triggered by the CO level. So we contacted the fire department and they came out at they evacuated everybody.”
It took fire crews close to three hours to vent the building and make sure it was safe. They then went from unit to unit with residents to check the CO levels and make sure it was safe for them to return home.
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Health Canada describes CO as a gas that has no odor, taste or colour and can only be detected by a carbon monoxide alarm.
It is produced by burning fuels such as oil, propane, wood or gasoline and can also be very dangerous to your health, even deadly.
Automobiles, wood burning stoves, furnaces and fireplaces are some of the common sources.
Health Canada says the risk of exposure is greatest in colder months because most homes in Canada are heated by appliances that run on burning fuels.
According to information from The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, exposure to a level of 200 ppm for a period of 2-3 hours can cause a slight headache, fatigue, dizziness and nausea, while exposure to a level of 800 ppm can also cause convulsions within 45 minutes and death within 2-3 hours.