You Can Get a Free Carbon Monoxide Alarm until Nov 7 | Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week

The first week of November means a few things in our house. It’s the week when I start to fret about how I’m going to entertain the kids for a full week during Fall break, the season when we start to wind down, and spend more time indoors watching movies and enjoying games night when the weather gets cold, and the one of two times a year that we check our carbon monoxide and smoke detectors to make sure they’re in good working order.

In our house, we’re pretty minimalist – but there are a few things that I make sure we’ve got on hand, even though they take up additional space in the small closets of the kids bedrooms.

Carbon monoxide alarm. Smoke detectors. Safety ladders that they can use to safety escape their bedrooms in case of a fire. Memorized emergency numbers. Plan A, B, and C for emergencies.

CARBON MONOXIDE AWARENESS WEEK 

In Alberta, November 1-7 is carbon monoxide awareness week. It’s the perfect time for every parent to educate themselves about the carbon monoxide, and the risks that present themselves in our homes.

Carbon Monoxide is often referred to as the ‘silent killer’ because it’s invisible, silent and odourless. In an enclosed space, such as a home or garage, CO exposure can lead to serious illness or death. That’s the reason you should ensure to maintain your furnace, or get your furnace repair if you living in Scarborough, Ontario.

Taking measures to prevent exposure can be simple, but there are often things that get overlooked in our busy lives, like having the furnace and natural gas appliances checked regularly by a qualified technician. You can read more about carbon monoxide prevention in your home, here.

Educating yourself is an important part of the parenting job – and let’s face it, there’s always room to learn. In fact, we learned something this week: It’s recommended to have one carbon monoxide alarm per floor, in the home. If you only have one, it should be placed near the bedrooms. Our sole carbon monoxide alarm is placed on the first level, so we’ve added it to our weekend to-do list, to add a second to our second level, nearer to the bedrooms.

If you haven’t yet installed a carbon monoxide alarm in your home, or you need a second unit, ATCO is providing Alberta families with a FREE carbon monoxide alarm, all you need to do is fill out a simple form (think of all the time this frees up, parents!) before November 7, 2019. Hurry!

Visit www.atco.com/co to claim a free carbon monoxide alarm, while supplies last.