ESTEVAN - The Estevan Fire Rescue Service dealt with a serious carbon monoxide (CO) leak in a multi-apartment building this week.
On March 8 at noon, fire crews were called for the CO alarm assistance at an apartment complex in the 900-block of Fourth Street.
"Crews arrived on scene to find several individuals that were not feeling well and experiencing the same signs and symptoms. When we made entry into the building, there were large amounts of carbon monoxide within the home. Estevan fire crews evacuated a total of five people from the occupancy, all of which attended to the hospital for treatment," said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser.
CO peak reading levels were extensively high in the building, Feser added, and the situation could have turned into a real tragedy.
"In this particular instance, with extremely high levels and concentrations, we're very, very thankful that it happened at dinnertime, in which the number of people that were inside the building was limited compared to nighttime. Besides, during the night hours, you'd have extended exposure to carbon monoxide, and it very well would have turned into a fatal event for all occupants within the building," Feser said.
Earlier, the Estevan EMS was called in to assist one of the occupants who was not feeling well, and they were the ones who picked up a high CO level and alerted the EFRS.
"Very quick thinking by EMS to ensure that the fire department was following up. The fire department also found that there was no carbon monoxide alarms in this particular occupancy," Feser said.
SaskEnergy was called to assist with the situation. They found that venting came disconnected from the main boiler system for the complex resulting in a leak.
Feser reminded that as of June 1, 2022, all residential buildings in Saskatchewan will have to have CO alarms installed and working to ensure that if a leak occurs, occupants get alerted and can take necessary steps in a timely manner.
"We will be making our way around to all these living spaces here and conducting inspections to ensure that everything is indeed in place there. We have spread some public information on that so that way, landlords and owners can actually start purchasing these items and have them in place and ready to go," Feser said.
