About 100 people were forced out of their homes following a gas leak on Thursday morning. The Calgary Fire Department (CFD) was called to a condo building on 12 Avenue and 27 Street S.E., in the community of Albert Park/Radisson Heights, at about 5 a.m. By the time they arrived, first responders found residents already leaving the building due to an active carbon monoxide (CO) alarm. An initial reading taken on arrival found 150 ppm of CO in the building. The leak was traced to a malfunctioning piece of equipment on the roof. “ATCO gas attended and confirmed the source, and fire crews ventilated the building until there was no CO levels detected. It was determined to be safe to allow everyone to re-occupy the building and responsibility turned back over to the property manager,” CFD said in a news release. The evacuated residents were sheltered in Calgary Transit buses for the duration of the call. No one was hurt. CFD say a functioning CO alarm is being credited for saving the residents from harm. “Most commonly, the main source of CO gas in your home is your furnace, but any household appliances which run on fuels, like natural gas and propane and even fireplaces can be a source. Schedule routine maintenance and inspections performed by qualified personnel to ensure these appliances are working properly,” officials said. “As weather conditions continue to cool down, another common source of CO is from vehicles. Never idle vehicles inside enclosed spaces, such as garages or near air inlets to buildings.”
