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Boiler Servicing and gas safety advice in newcastle and tyneside
February 9th, 2010
The silent killer thriving in the recession?
With the current economic climate a lot of homeowners and landlords are cutting back on
Gas servicing and safety checks, which for landlords is illegal as they must ensure the safety of
any tenants living in there premises by having a registered gas engineer carry out an annual safety check, and any servicing that is required. At this moment in time there is no legal requirement for homeowners to ensure gas appliances are safe, although they may be found liable should an incident occur due to a badly maintained appliance.
Often referred to as ‘the silent killer’ CO (Carbon Monoxide) fumes are particularly dangerous because they cannot be detected. You cannot see, smell or taste the fumes, which in extreme cases can kill without warning in a matter of hours, badly maintained gas appliances are one of the biggest causes, it only takes small measures to protect yourself from the silent killer.
One such measure is an audible CO alarm which will alert any occupants of a possible CO leak, you can obtain them reasonably cheaply (anywhere from £12-£50) both online and from many retail outlets.
To guarantee your safety a gas appliance service is recommended from a Gas Safe registered
engineer your nearest engineer can be found by visiting the Gas Safe website.
A service will identify any potential problems that can be caused from poorly maintained appliances, average cost is between £40-£100 (£55 in our case).
One of the main problems with detecting CO poisoning is that symptoms can mimic many
common illnesses, such as flu, tiredness and migraines. The HSE advise that key symptoms to
look out for are drowsiness, headaches, breathlessness and vomiting.
CO is produced when there isn’t enough air for the complete burning of carbon fuels such
as gas, oil and coal, which causes an excess of poisonous fumes.
If you believe you may be suffering from CO poisoning, you must immediately turn off all gas appliances and move you and any occupants to the outside air, next you must call the emergency helpline on 0800 111 999, and follow the instructions given.
Can you really put a price on you and your families safety?
This article was written by Gas Angel Heating a plumber in Newcastle
Posted in Boiler Servicing
Call your local fire department or 91 1 from a neighbours telephone…..If your CO detector sounds do NOT assume it to be a false alarm. …The Office of the Fire Marshal is part of a Carbon Monoxide Awareness Committee comprised of representatives from industry government fire services public utilities standards and certification agencies and appliance manufacturers that is dedicated to an ongoing coordinated approach to protecting the public against CO hazards through greater awareness and understanding…..Home heating safety information is available on the Technical Standards and Safety Authority website at …….
Call your local fire department or 91 1 from a neighbours telephone…..If your CO detector sounds do NOT assume it to be a false alarm. …The Office of the Fire Marshal is part of a Carbon Monoxide Awareness Committee comprised of representatives from industry government fire services public utilities standards and certification agencies and appliance manufacturers that is dedicated to an ongoing coordinated approach to protecting the public against CO hazards through greater awareness and understanding…..Home heating safety information is available on the Technical Standards and Safety Authority website at …….
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