Key Takeaways
- 619 British Columbians died in the June 2021 heat dome — 93% had no working AC in their living space (BC Coroners Service).
- Technical Safety BC investigated 17 carbon monoxide incidents in 2023, up from 10 the year before, including one fatality.
- The BC Building Code requires a CO alarm within 5 m of every bedroom in homes with fuel-burning appliances.
- Under BC Residential Tenancy Act §33, loss of heat qualifies as an emergency repair landlords must address immediately.
- Frozen-pipe water damage averages ~$16,000 per claim in Canada — pipes are at risk when ambient temperatures fall below roughly −6°C.
Most of the "emergency HVAC" calls I've taken over the last 17 years in Coquitlam fall into two buckets: things the homeowner correctly identified as urgent and called us right away, and things that started small a week earlier, got ignored, and turned into a 1am call. The second bucket is the expensive one — and almost always preventable.
Below are the seven signs that warrant a same-day call in Coquitlam. For each, I'll tell you what it most likely means, what's safe to do yourself, and at what point you stop troubleshooting and pick up the phone. Sign #4 is the one most homeowners brush off — and it's the one that ties directly to the silent killer in sign #3.
A note on response times in BC: in the heart of winter or during a summer heat warning, every HVAC company in the Lower Mainland is fully booked. Calling early — even if you're not 100% sure it's an emergency — is almost always the right move. We'd rather come out and tell you everything is fine than have you wait until midnight.
No heat when it's below 5°C outside
What it likely means: the most common causes are a failed igniter, a dirty flame sensor, a thermostat issue, or a tripped pressure switch from a blocked condensate line. On older furnaces it's often the gas valve or the inducer motor.
Safe to check yourself: thermostat batteries, the breaker for the furnace, the furnace switch (often looks like a regular light switch on the wall near the unit), and the air filter. A fully clogged filter can trip the high-limit switch and shut the system off.
When to call us immediately: any sustained no-heat in winter is a same-day call in Coquitlam. Once outdoor temperatures drop below roughly −6°C, plumbing in unheated walls and crawl spaces is at real risk. Insurance Bureau of Canada data and Square One Insurance both put the average frozen-pipe water-damage claim around $16,000 — significantly more than even the worst furnace repair.
If you rent, your landlord is legally obligated to act fast. We cover the BC tenancy rules in the FAQ at the bottom of this post. For full pricing on common no-heat repairs, see our furnace repair cost guide for Coquitlam or jump straight to furnace repair services.
Gas smell near the furnace
Life-safety — leave the house firstNatural gas itself is odourless. The rotten-egg smell you notice is mercaptan — an odorant added by FortisBC specifically so leaks can be detected before they reach explosive concentrations. If you smell it, treat it as real every time.
Do not, under any circumstances:
- ×Flip light switches on or off
- ×Use your phone, doorbell, garage door opener, or any electrical device inside the house
- ×Light matches, candles, or operate any flame source
- ×Try to find the leak yourself
Do, in this order:
- Get everyone out of the house, including pets.
- Leave the doors open behind you to ventilate.
- From outside (or a neighbour's phone), call FortisBC's 24-hour emergency line at 1-800-663-9911.
- If anyone is showing symptoms — dizziness, nausea, headache — call 911.
- Do not re-enter until FortisBC clears the home.
After FortisBC has shut off the supply and confirmed the home is safe, a licensed Gasfitter needs to identify the source — often a worn fitting on the gas line to the furnace, water heater, or stove. We handle that side of the work. The FortisBC official protocol is published at fortisbc.com/safety.
Carbon monoxide detector going off
Life-safety — call 911Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless, and tasteless. The alarm is your only warning. CO binds to haemoglobin in your blood far more readily than oxygen does, which is why even moderate exposure causes confusion, headaches, dizziness, and — at higher levels — unconsciousness and death.
Do this immediately:
- Get everyone outside, including pets, into fresh air.
- Call 911 from outside the house.
- Do not go back in to open windows, get belongings, or check the alarm — first responders will ventilate and verify CO levels with calibrated meters.
- Note any symptoms anyone is showing for the paramedics.
Once the home is cleared, every fuel-burning appliance — furnace, water heater, fireplace, gas range — needs inspection by a licensed Gasfitter before any of them are used again. The most common source of CO from a furnace is a cracked heat exchanger (see sign #4 below), but it can also come from blocked or disconnected venting, a malfunctioning gas water heater, or back-drafting from negative pressure in tightly-sealed homes.
Compliance note for Coquitlam homeowners: the BC Building Code requires a CSA-certified CO alarm in any residential occupancy with a fuel-burning appliance, installed inside or within 5 metres of every bedroom door. If your home doesn't have one — or the one you have is more than 7 years old — replace it this week.
17
CO incidents investigated by Technical Safety BC in 2023, up from 10 in 2022 — including one fatality.
~300
Annual CO-related deaths and hospitalisations in Canada, with a clear peak in December–January (Health Canada).
Sources: Technical Safety BC State of Safety 2023 · Health Canada CO infobase
Loud banging or screeching from the furnace
This is the #4 — don't ignore itThis is the sign people most often try to live with — "it's always done that" or "the house is just old." Don't. Loud banging or screeching is your furnace telling you something specific has failed, and the failure modes connect directly to sign #3.
What the sound usually means:
- Loud bang at startupDelayed ignition. Gas accumulates briefly before lighting and you get a small explosion inside the burner box. Repeated delayed ignitions can crack the heat exchanger — and a cracked heat exchanger is the most common source of CO leaking into your supply air.
- Screeching or squealing during the blower cycleBearing failure on the blower motor or, on belt-drive systems, a slipping or fraying belt. Either can fail completely without much more warning.
- Rumbling that builds and fades with the heat cycleOften dirty burners or a poorly-tuned gas pressure causing uneven combustion. Inefficient at best, dangerous at worst.
- Metallic clanking inside the cabinetSomething has come loose — typically the inducer wheel or blower wheel. Will destroy surrounding components quickly if the system keeps running.
What to do: shut the furnace off at the dedicated furnace switch (not just the thermostat), confirm your CO alarm is working, and call. If you can describe the sound accurately on the phone — when it happens in the cycle, what it sounds like — we can usually give you an idea of cost and parts before we arrive.
The reason this sign sits at #4 is simple: of every CO call I've responded to, the home had been making a noise nobody acted on. The detector going off was the symptom; the noise was the warning. If your furnace is making a sound it didn't make a year ago, that's the warning.
Water pooling around the HVAC unit
Standing water around a furnace, AC air handler, or water heater is never normal. The most common causes in Coquitlam homes are a clogged condensate drain on a high-efficiency furnace, a cracked humidifier line, a failed condensate pump, or a leaking water heater nearby (water heaters often share the utility room).
Why it's urgent: mould growth in damp building materials begins in 24–48 hours. Standing water near electrical components is a shock and short-circuit hazard. If the water is coming from your hot water tank, it can quickly turn from a slow drip into a catastrophic failure that floods the room.
What to do safely: turn off the breaker for the unit before you touch any water. If the water is from a water heater, shut off the cold water supply valve at the top of the tank. Sop up what you can with towels. Don't restart the equipment until a tech has identified the source.
We handle both the HVAC and plumbing sides of these calls — useful when it isn't obvious yet which one is leaking. Related services: water heater repairs, water leak detection, and sump pump service.
Electrical burning smell from the vents
Fire risk — shut off the breaker nowA persistent burning-plastic, melted-electrical, or hot-rubber smell coming through your supply vents almost always means a component inside the furnace is overheating. Most common causes: a failing blower motor, a swelling or shorted capacitor, a cracked or melted wire insulation on a high-amp circuit, or a control board burning out.
Do this: turn off the dedicated breaker for the furnace at your electrical panel — not just the thermostat. The thermostat only signals the furnace; the breaker actually cuts power. Open windows to ventilate. Do not run the system again until it's been inspected, even if the smell goes away.
Repeated overheating events can ignite dust accumulated inside the cabinet or on adjacent ductwork. We've responded to enough furnace-cabinet fires in the Tri-Cities over the years that this is one we never tell people to wait on. If your furnace is original to the house and over 15 years old, also see our heat pump vs. furnace comparison for BC — at that age, replacement is often a better answer than another major repair.
AC fails during a heat warning
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues a heat warning for southwest BC when daytime highs hit 29°C or warmer and overnight lows stay at 16°C or warmer for two or more consecutive days. Once those conditions arrive, an AC failure stops being an inconvenience.
The 2021 BC heat dome killed 619 people in seven days. According to the BC Coroners Service death review panel, 67% of those who died were aged 70 or older, more than 80% had three or more chronic conditions, and 93% had no working AC in their living space. For anyone elderly, anyone with respiratory or cardiac conditions, anyone caring for an infant, and anyone living alone — a working cooling system during a heat warning is genuinely a medical issue.
Common reasons AC fails in a heat wave: a refrigerant leak (your system has been quietly losing charge for months and the heat wave just pushed demand past what it can deliver), a failed capacitor (the most common single failure), a frozen evaporator coil from running the system 24/7 with a dirty filter, or a tripped high-pressure switch.
While you wait for a tech: close all blinds and curtains, especially on south- and west-facing windows. Move to the lowest floor. Run bath fans and exhaust fans to pull hot air out. Drink water continuously, even if you don't feel thirsty. Check on neighbours over 65 who live alone — that's the demographic the 2021 heat dome hit hardest.
The honest reality: during an active heat warning, every AC technician in Metro Vancouver is booked solid. Waiting for the heat warning to lift before calling means you're calling at the worst possible moment. If your AC is showing any warning signs in May or June, get it serviced before the heat arrives — not after. See our AC repair services or our AC installation guide for Coquitlam if your system is past replacement age.
What to do while you wait for an HVAC tech
The right things to do depend on which kind of emergency you're dealing with. Use this as a quick reference.
Heat emergency in winter
- • Close interior doors of unused rooms to concentrate heat
- • Open cabinet doors under kitchen and bathroom sinks (warmer room air helps protect pipes in exterior walls)
- • Let cold-water taps drip slowly on exterior walls to relieve pressure if pipes freeze
- • Close blinds at night, open south-facing blinds during the day
- • If using space heaters, give them 1m clearance and never leave them running unattended
Gas or CO emergency
- • Stay outside the home — don't go back in for any reason
- • Move pets out with you
- • Call from a neighbour's phone or your mobile from outside
- • Wait for FortisBC or first responders to clear the home
- • Don't restart any gas appliance until a Gasfitter has inspected it
Cooling emergency in a heat wave
- • Close all blinds and curtains, especially south and west sides
- • Move to the lowest floor (cooler air settles)
- • Run bath and kitchen exhaust fans to pull hot air out
- • Drink water continuously, before you feel thirsty
- • Check on neighbours 65+ and anyone living alone
- • Find your nearest cooling centre (BC Centre for Disease Control publishes the list)
Water leak from HVAC equipment
- • Turn off the breaker for the unit at the panel
- • If from a water heater, shut off the cold-water supply valve at the top of the tank
- • Sop up standing water; lift items off wet floor
- • Don't use the equipment until inspected
- • Take photos of the damage for insurance purposes
Why response time matters in Coquitlam winters
Coquitlam doesn't get the deep cold of the Prairies, but our winters are wet, the temperature swings are sharp, and our housing stock includes a lot of homes with plumbing in uninsulated crawl spaces and exterior walls. A 24-hour heating outage in February is not the same problem as a 24-hour outage in May.
Pipe freeze starts before pipes freeze
Plumbing in unheated walls and crawl spaces can begin freezing once ambient temperatures drop below roughly −6°C — well before what most people think of as "deep winter." Coquitlam's January average overnight low sits around −1°C, with cold snaps regularly reaching −8 to −10°C. The colder the home gets without heat, the faster pipes are at risk.
A burst pipe is a five-figure problem
Square One Insurance puts the average frozen-pipe water-damage claim in Canada at around $16,000. Insurance Bureau of Canada notes that homeowners can be denied coverage if a home was left unattended without heat for an extended period. Fast response to a no-heat call is also a financial decision.
Landlords have legal obligations
Section 32 of the BC Residential Tenancy Act requires landlords to maintain rental properties to health and safety standards required by law. Section 33 specifically covers emergency repairs and lists the primary heating system as an essential service. If a landlord can't be reached or won't act, tenants are permitted to arrange the repair themselves and deduct it from rent — provided they follow the procedure in the Act. See RTB Policy Guideline 1 for the formal procedure.
The Lower Mainland books up fast
During the first significant cold snap of any given winter — and during every heat warning in summer — every reputable HVAC company in Metro Vancouver is fully booked within hours. Calling at the first sign of trouble is almost always cheaper and faster than waiting until the system fails completely.
Our response commitment
We aim for a 90-minute response across Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Burke Mountain on true emergencies — and we don't charge overtime, evening, weekend, or holiday surcharges. The rate at 11pm on a Sunday is the rate at 2pm on a Tuesday. After 17 years of doing this, the math is clear: the homes that called fast spent less and had less damage than the homes that waited. Every time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who do I call for a gas leak in Coquitlam?
Leave the house first, then call FortisBC's 24-hour emergency line at 1-800-663-9911 from outside or from a neighbour's phone. If anyone is showing symptoms or the leak is severe, call 911. Do not flip light switches, use your phone inside the house, or operate any electrical device — a spark can ignite gas. Once FortisBC has shut off and ventilated the supply, an HVAC tech can diagnose and repair the appliance side.
Is no heat considered an emergency under BC tenancy law?
Yes. Under section 33 of the BC Residential Tenancy Act, loss of an essential service — including the primary heating system — qualifies as an emergency repair. Tenants must give the landlord a reasonable opportunity to make the repair, but if the landlord cannot be reached or fails to act, the tenant is permitted to arrange the repair and deduct the cost from rent under the procedure set out in the Act. Landlords in Coquitlam should treat any winter no-heat call as same-day priority.
How fast can an emergency HVAC tech arrive in Coquitlam?
We aim for a 90-minute response window across Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Burke Mountain for true emergencies — no heat in winter, AC failure during a heat warning, water damage from an HVAC unit, or any combustion safety concern. Industry response times vary widely; if a contractor cannot give you a clear ETA on the phone, that's a sign to call someone else.
Do you charge extra for after-hours or weekend service?
No. We do not charge overtime, evening, weekend, or holiday surcharges. The rate you'd pay at 2pm on a Tuesday is the rate you pay at 11pm on a Saturday. We added this policy after years of watching homeowners delay urgent repairs because of after-hours pricing — the delay almost always made the repair more expensive.
What should I do if my carbon monoxide detector goes off?
Treat it as a real alarm every time. Get everyone (and pets) outside immediately. Call 911 from outside the house. Do not re-enter to open windows, gather belongings, or check the detector — first responders will ventilate and confirm CO levels. Once the home is cleared, a licensed Gasfitter needs to inspect every fuel-burning appliance before any of them are used again.
Are CO detectors legally required in BC homes?
Yes for any new build or major renovation. The BC Building Code (Section 9.32.3.9) requires a CSA-certified carbon monoxide alarm in any residential occupancy that contains or is served by a fuel-burning appliance. Alarms must be installed inside or within 5 metres of every bedroom door. For older homes that predate the requirement, installing one is still strongly recommended — natural gas furnaces, water heaters, and fireplaces all produce CO when something fails.
Can a cracked heat exchanger really leak carbon monoxide into my house?
Yes — and this is why we treat any banging, screeching, or yellow-flame complaint as urgent. The heat exchanger is the metal chamber that separates combustion gases (which include CO) from the air your blower pushes through your ducts. A crack means those gases can enter the supply air. Symptoms in the home are non-specific — headache, dizziness, nausea — which is why a working CO alarm is non-negotiable in any home with a gas furnace.