CO Awareness Week Underway

Wednesday, 5 November 2025 at 06:20

Officials are shining a light on an upcoming change to the law regarding carbon monoxide alarms.

WOODSTOCK - We're in the midst of Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week.

It officially started on November 1st and it shines a light on the dangers of carbon monoxide and the importance of having alarms in your home.

As of right now, carbon monoxide alarms are mandatory outside all of the sleeping areas.

Lisa Woods, the Public Information Coordinator for the Woodstock Fire Department, says sometimes people think it's best to have them close to the garage or a fuel burning appliance.

"We actually need to know that you're going to wake up in the middle of the night if something does so wrong and it will disperse equally and evenly throughout the house. As long as the alarm can smell it, so don't put it behind a curtain, a couch or a bed."

However, Woods says the rules regarding the location of carbon monoxide alarms will change in the New Year.

"As of January 1st, 2026 you will require them on every story of the home and outside sleeping areas. this means if you have all of your bedrooms on one level, it will need to be centralized to the bedroom, but they will still need to be on every level of your home."

Carbon monoxide alarms are only mandatory in homes with a fuel burning appliance or an attached garage and Woods says that rule is not changing.

She also stresses the importance of checking your alarms throughout the year, changing the batteries and making sure they are not expired.

Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman worked alongside John Gignac to introduce the law regarding carbon monoxide alarms years ago, after Gignac's niece Laurie Hawkins and her family passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning in Woodstock back in 2008. Gignac went out to create the Hawkin's Gignac Foundation for CO Education from there, and you can find more information online here.

Lisa Woods stopped by the Heart FM studio to chat with Dan and Marcie on Tuesday November 4th. You can listen to the full interview below: