The cold weather is keeping people indoors but there can be dangers lurking.

High River Fire Chief Cody Zebedee says there are steps you can take to keep yourself and your family safe.

"A couple things during this cold weather is to make sure their heating equipment has been checked and inspected to make sure that it's functioning properly, furnace filters are clean as well as wood burning appliances, fireplaces and wood stoves and things like that. Making sure the chimney has been cleaned and inspected to make sure there's no issues there," he says.

Zebedee says if you are using wood-burning appliances make sure there's a source of fresh air by opening a window slightly.

"Having carbon monoxide protectors in the home is super important, as we all know carbon monoxide is invisible, it's odourless, it's tasteless, so we don't know that it's actually there so having a working carbon monoxide detector is a really important piece and with those comes making sure they're within the expiry date and the batteries are changed if they're battery operated."

He also suggests making sure the vents on the outside of your home are not blocked by snow or ice because if they are, carbon monoxide can get pushed back into the home.

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"Carbon monoxide doesn't come from just furnaces and hot water tanks it can come from any gas appliance, we'll also see them come from vehicles....quite often we'll see individuals open their garage door one or two feet and start their car inside their garage. The challenge is the carbon monoxide does build up and seep into the home so pulling your vehicle out of the garage, don't allow your vehicle to run inside the attached garage."

He says another good idea is to check block heaters and power cords.

If you're using a heavy gauge cord, make sure it's in good condition and look at the block heater cord itself to make sure it hasn't gotten pinched off between the hood and the body of the vehicle.