Installing your cottage appliances and doing routine maintenance yourself 

Installing and maintaining gas equipment should be completed by a qualified gas fitter. A qualified gas fitter not only understands the applicable regulations, codes, and standards for the safe installation and maintenance of these appliances, they also understand the risk of carbon monoxide.

Having this knowledge can save your life. Find a qualified gas fitter.

The risk of installing your gas appliances

A propane-powered instant hot water heater was purchased and installed in a shower room by the property owner. A critical instruction, “no installation in the room”, was not followed when installing. In addition, there was also no ducting to vent flue gases directly outdoors or a separate duct supplying outside air directly into the appliance combustion chamber. 

Missing these crucial instructions and not following code requirements resulted in the appliance exhausting carbon monoxide (CO) into the shower room. Within a short period, the air turned deadly. A man and woman were found unresponsive inside the shower building and later pronounce dead.

Read the full incident report.