Faulty boiler caused carbon monoxide leak that killed boy in Regina apartment

REGINA – Parents of a Regina boy who was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning say they won’t stop fighting for justice after officials shared more details on what caused the leak in their apartment building.

“People need to be held accountable,” Marina Hills, the mother of 11-year-old Henry Losco, said in an interview Wednesday.

“They need to be punished.”

Hills found the boy and her husband, Sergio Losco, unconscious in their downtown apartment on Dec. 19.

Henry was declared dead at the scene, and his father was treated in hospital.

Fire Chief Layne Jackson announced earlier Wednesday that a boiler malfunction had caused the leak.

He told reporters there was a delayed ignition, causing the boiler to explode and blow apart venting equipment.

“(It) allowed the boiler to emit products of combustion and carbon monoxide directly into the building,” Jackson said.

The manufacturer of the natural gas-fired boiler, Ariston Canada Inc., issued a safety notice for the model, Jackson added.

Hills said she appreciates the update, but she and her husband continue to have questions about what happened that day.

She said she was told alarms on the second floor were ringing in the afternoon, but her husband didn’t hear them on the fourth floor, where the family lived.

Hills came home from work later that evening, she said, and found the pair unconscious. She screamed for help and performed chest compressions on her son, while her neighbour phoned 911.

The fire department has said crews were called to the scene at 7:54 p.m.

Someone should have phoned first responders sooner, Hills said.

“Carbon monoxide ran unchecked,” Hills said. “(After the explosion), why didn’t anyone go down there and check the boiler room to make sure that something hadn’t malfunctioned?

“It was an explosion. It didn’t just combust. You couldn’t have missed it.”

Jackson confirmed some alarms went off in the building. Asked whether anyone heard the explosion, he said it remains under investigation. He also didn’t say when the boiler exploded.

The Technical Safety Authority of Saskatchewan, which is responsible for safety inspections, said in a statement that inspectors checked the boiler the day before the leak.

It said it found the equipment was properly installed and operating in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.

The authority said it has been in contact with owners of the same boiler to advise them of potential safety issues. An advisory says the boiler can cause delayed ignition, if installed under certain conditions, which could result in the release of carbon monoxide.

A police spokesperson said the force is in contact with Crown prosecutors in an investigation to determine whether there was any criminality.

“At this time, there is no indication as to when the investigation will conclude,” the spokesperson said.

Hills said she and her husband are planning to sue the owner of the apartment building and the boiler manufacturer.

“We aren’t settling. We’re going to trial,” she said. “There’s not enough money in this world that will bring back my son.”

Losco added: “This was absolutely preventable.”

Metro1827, which operates the apartment building, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Opposition NDP legislature member Meara Conway, whose constituents include the family, said she’s looking to bring forward legislation that would strengthen rules around ensuring carbon monoxide detectors are installed in all units of multi-residential buildings.

Saskatchewan law requires working carbon monoxide and smoke alarms in all residential buildings.

Hills and Losco have since moved to another apartment in the city.

Pictures of Henry are displayed throughout their home, including his last school portrait and him smiling on a soccer pitch.

His family keeps a room with his belongings. There are medals, a trumpet, jerseys and his old sneakers.

Hills said her son, a goalie, wanted to be like Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Italian goalkeeper for Manchester City in the Premier League.

“He gave love freely to everyone,” Hills said.

The family moved to Canada from Italy in 2020 and lived in various provinces before landing in Saskatchewan.

Hills said they wanted their son to experience life in a different country and what it had to offer.

“Our son passed away here. As truly horrible as it is, we are going to stay here and finish this, follow through with this (and spread) national awareness about carbon monoxide,” she said.

They’ve also adopted a golden retriever puppy and named him Benjamin, which was Henry’s middle name. 

“There’s nightmares, there’s anger, there’s sorry. And this puppy, who is eight weeks today, has given us kind of a light.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2026.