Carbon Monoxide detectors save lives every day. As CO is impossible to smell, taste and see, and as the only way people can safely determine if the gas is present in their home is through a carbon monoxide alarm, countless people have managed to escape from a potentially lethal environment thanks to the ringing of their CO detector.
This week (November 17th to 23rd) is Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week, and, like the average November week, a CO alarm has been credited with alerting a woman to the presence of Carbon Monoxide. London Fire Brigade attended a property in Holmsdale Road, South Norwood, after the resident of the property heard her CO alarm sounding.
Her boiler was in the kitchen, so she ventilated this room before the emergency services arrived and escaped from the house before sustaining any injuries. After fire crews had checked out the scene, they handed the incident over to Gas Safe engineers so they could make the home safe again.
Commenting, London Fire Brigade Watch Manager Danny Kelly called Carbon Monoxide a “silent killer”, and said the situation “could have been much more serious” had the CO alarm not sounded.
He advised people to stay safe with cookers, fires and boilers by getting them serviced and checked regularly and ensuring that they have a working CO alarm.
Not all CO incidents end as well as the incident above, of course; in London during January 2013, six people, including four young children, were hospitalised after a woman dried her clothes indoors with a barbecue, and around 50 people die of accidental CO poisoning every year.
So far in 2014, London Fire Brigade has attended a total of 286 Carbon Monoxide-related incidents – the equivalent of four incidents on the average week. This figure is considerably lower than in 2014, when the fire service attended a massive 419 CO incidents – averaging more than one incident a day.
Stay safe with fuel-burning appliances
If you think there is a problem with a gas appliance in your home, then contact the manufacturer and check online to see if the appliance has been recalled.
If the item is not subject to a recall, then get it repaired by a competent and qualified professional. A huge number of CO release incidents relate to incorrectly-installed or repaired gas appliances; accordingly, the law stipulates that all gas appliance installations, repairs and maintenance tasks must only be completed by Gas Safe engineers.
A 247 Home Rescue boiler cover service plan is a great way to keep your gas appliances safe and efficient. We will arrange annual gas appliance services and gas safety checks, and will repair your boiler whenever it breaks down. Of course, all of the engineers in our nationwide network are Gas Safe Registered, so you can rest assured a skilled professional is just a few hours away when you’re protected with us.
