A Windsor contractor has been fined for installing a furnace without proper ventilation.
The Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) says it successfully prosecuted Mark Van Watteghem for installing a furnace with unsafe venting, which placed a resident at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
In January 2017, Van Watts Mechanical was hired to replace a wall furnace in a duplex in Windsor.
The TSSA says Van Watteghem installed the furnace with incompatible venting components and with holes in the vent piping, which allowed CO to enter the living space.
It says the resident sensed that the installation was not done properly and did not use the furnace.
On October 9, Van Watteghem was convicted by the Ontario Court of Justice in Windsor for failing to ensure that a gas appliance was in safe working order before leaving the installation, as well as for working as a gasfitter without a contractor registration.
Van Watteghem was fined $15,000, plus the mandatory 25 per cent victim surcharge, for a total penalty of $18,750. Court heard Van Watteghem had a prior conviction under TSSA legislation relating to an incident in 2014 that also could have resulted in CO poisoning.
“This was a near miss for a potentially deadly CO scenario,” said John Marshall, Director of TSSA’s Fuels Safety Program. “Mr. Van Watteghem and all other TSSA-certified fuel technicians have a professional and legal responsibility to keep up-to-date with all safety codes and standards and be aware of the risks associated with improper installation and incompatible venting components and to know the proper precautions to ensure public safety.”
The public is being reminded that all gas appliance work must be performed by a TSSA-certified technician.