We have just seen gas safety week pass so it is important to remind people just how important gas safety is. BBC news this week wrote about a couple who last year were not aware of their gas leaking and suffered from severe burns because their house exploded due to a leaking pipe underneath their house. This couple are now calling for new properties to have gas alarms because gas can be just as deadly as naked fire. There is a lot of unfortunate news relating to gas.
A big gas killer is carbon monoxide poisoning. Because carbon monoxide is an odourless, tasteless and an invisible gas, it is almost impossible to detect. It prevents your red blood cells from carrying oxygen around the body so people die of suffocation. Fortunately, carbon monoxide alarms are not expensive so there is an affordable way of detecting carbon monoxide in your home.
As it is coming up to winter, you will use your gas appliances a lot more. It is vital that you have your gas checked by as gas safe registered engineer in order to ensure that your appliances are safe. Landlords should be aware that it is their legal responsibility to have all the gas appliances they have in their tenants’ home checked. Failure to do so can lead to unlimited fines and in some cases imprisonment or both.
In the UK, around 50 people die a year in their homes from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. Don’t let this be you make sure you have all of your gas appliances tested at least annually to ensure that they are in good, working condition. Otherwise it can pose as a risk without you even realising it.
It is better to be safe than sorry so make sure you contact a gas safe registered engineer when you have any work done which involves gas. All gas safe registered engineers should carry their gas safe badge with them at all times. Make sure you check the name on the badge to ensure your gas engineer is gas safe registered.
Protect your home, yourself and the lives within your home by having a gas safety check within your home.
