The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs says most people in Canada are not protected against carbon monoxide poisoning, often called the silent killer.
Spokesman Pierre Voisine says a 2010 national building code requires new homes to have carbon monoxide detectors but the life-saving devices should be mandatory in all homes.
Voisine -- the fire chief in Cornwall, Ontario -- says that's been the case in Ontario since 2014 and that carbon monoxide detectors are just as important as fire detectors.
He says the recent suspected carbon monoxide poisonings of four people in a home near Ashcroft, B-C, are a tragic reminder that everyone should have detectors in their homes.
The fire chief says at least 50 people across Canada die from the deadly gas every year, but some estimates put that number at three times that amount.
Voisine says there are no national statistics on carbon monoxide poisonings, and the association is trying to compile data that could be used to address the preventable deaths.