Carbon monoxide awareness week aims to reduce deaths

There were 15 deaths last year across Albertafrom carbon monoxide that didn't involve fires, and allcould have been prevented if there had been detectors in the house.

• 5 things to know about the 'silent killer'

That's the message being delivered as part of carbon monoxide awareness week, arriving just in time for furnaces to begin firing.

Dan Nicolajsen of ATCOGas says that many new homes come with features that could produce carbon monoxide, including gas fireplaces, dryers and ranges. That means detectors are even more important and should be installed on each floor of your home.

"If you have gas-burning appliances that ... [are]not cleaned properly, they're not burning clear, they don't get proper air supply and you could get incomplete combustion on any of your levels," he said.

Detectors should be off the ground, either on a wall orhigh on a shelf.

"In new home construction typically you'll see them mounted in the ceiling, tied into the smoke alarm as well," said Nicolajsen.