Sweeping new smoke alarm regulations started July 1st. Provincial building codes say that you need carbon monoxide and smoke alarms on every floor and in every bedroom regardless of when your house was built.
Rosetown bylaw enforcement officer Dennis Ogg said, "this will fall under the building code and national fire protection jurisdiction. I'm not sure how they will enforce it. Usually they look into these things after the fact, and that's the way it goes."
He also mentioned that these new requirements will be a part of new home construction and picked up by home inspections on new home purchases.
If you have a residential building with bedrooms and a furnace you may need more early warning detection devices. Carbon monoxide and smoke alarms will need to be on more levels and in more rooms.
Ogg has mixed feelings about the 10 year batteries. He feels that people will forget to test them. On the bright side he says, "the nice thing about the 10 year one is that the battery is no good for anything else. In a rental, a lot of times, the renter is gone and they've taken the 9V battery and left. We see that happen lots."
Dennis Ogg from March 2020Protecting people in their homes.
The owner of each building or the owner of each suite within a building is responsible for ensuring the required alarms are installed, maintained, and tested.
Fri, Apr 26, 7:30 PM
