Red Flags — Seek Help Now

Most outages are an inconvenience to manage calmly. However, some signs mean you should seek help or evacuate rather than continue waiting it out.

Call 911 Or Seek Emergency Help If:

  • Anyone shows signs of carbon monoxide poisoning (headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion) - get outside into fresh air immediately and call for help
  • A medical device someone depends on (oxygen concentrator, dialysis, ventilator) has lost power and there's no backup
  • Anyone shows signs of heatstroke (confusion, hot dry skin, very high body temperature) or hypothermia (confusion, slurred speech, shivering that stops)
  • There's a fire, sparking, or downed power line near your home

Seek Alternate Shelter If:

  • Your home can't be kept at a safe temperature and the outage is extended
  • You depend on medical equipment with no way to keep it running
  • Local authorities advise evacuation or direct you to a warming/cooling centre
Pro tip

If you or someone in your home is feeling seriously unwell and a power outage is part of the picture, don't wait to see if it passes on its own - treat physical symptoms as the priority, not the inconvenience of the outage itself.

When safety is genuinely in question, it is always better to seek help and have it turn out to be unnecessary than to wait too long.