The Dauphin Fire Department is encouraging people to have carbon monoxide detectors in both new and old buildings.
The detectors are mandatory in new buildings under the Manitoba Building Code.
Cam Abrey, chief of the Dauphin Fire Department, says the DFD recommends you have a detector in your home, even if you heat with electricity.
"Where you have your fresh air intake going into your home, if there's a vehicle idling close by, and we've responded to calls where somebody is cutting their grass outside and the carbon monoxide alarm goes off inside the home because the exhaust from the lawnmower has now been sucked into the home. Even if you have electric heat, we still encourage everybody to have carbon monoxide alarms within their home."
Abrey says signs of symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to the flu, and it's hard to determine without an alarm if a person has been exposed to the dangerous gas.
