Fire & Safety for responsiblewholesalers
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Carbon monoxide is completely undetectable to the human senses and therefore poses a deadly threat to many homeowners. But CO poisoning is also completely avoidable. Here Nick Rutter, Managing Director for Sprue Safety Products explains why homeowners do not need to put themselves in unnecessary danger
vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, infirm and the very young. Following warnings from energy leaders of further rises in household bills over the next six years, together with predictions of the worst winter yet, low-income households could be at particular risk as the cold weather takes hold. Faced with spiralling costs to heat their
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homes, a growing number of people are therefore looking to cheaper alternatives, or worse, avoiding heating their properties altogether. Others are taking drastic measures which could cost lives. In fact, according to the price comparison
site uSwitch, 70% of UK households reduced their heating last winter to avoid paying higher
www.ewnews.co.uk
oaring energy bills and prolonged severe cold weather can be a deadly combination, particularly for
energy bills, with one in six saying that they tried to go without heating altogether. These are worrying statistics. But perhaps what is more worrying is the fact that we also hear how a growing number of people are blocking flues, chimneys and vents in a desperate bid to keep heat in and running costs down. The danger is that in doing so, essential ventilation sources could be sealed by mistake, so any potentially fatal carbon monoxide (CO) leaking from faulty heating or cooking appliances could become trapped inside, putting occupants at serious risk.
Reduce the danger Proper installation and regular servicing of all
gas or fossil fuel appliances should dramatically reduce the dangers of CO, but Gas Safe Register estimates that although there is awareness that gas appliances need to be
February 2014 electrical wholesaler | 25
safety checked annually, 43% of Britons don’t do it and 10% have gas appliances which have never been checked. Tougher legislation which was introduced in
Scotland and Northern Ireland making the installation of carbon monoxide alarms compulsory in all homes or interconnected
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