As they settle into their dorms or apartments this fall, post-secondary students are being reminded about fire prevention and the importance of having smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
The “Alarmed and Ready” campaign was launched in Moncton today.
Advocate John Gignac says carbon monoxide poisoning can often mimic the flu without having a fever.
“Most people go the doctor and they will be told they have the flu and sends them home. You can tell the difference. If you start feeling better when you leave home and you feel sick again when you return home… well you don’t feel better when you have the flu, so you have to clue in that it’s carbon monoxide,” he notes.
Gignac is a retired firefighter who lost four family members to carbon monoxide poisoning in their home in Brantford, Ontario in 2008.
He later became an advocate and began the Hawkins-Gignac Foundation for Carbon Monoxide Education.
