PLEASE NOTE: This article is over 1 year old and may not contain the most up-to-date information.

Council pledges its support for Gas Safety Week 2016

September 15, 2016

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council has pledged its support for Gas Safety Week (19-25 September 2016) to raise awareness of gas safety and urge the public to support the most vulnerable in society, to help keep them safe from dangerous gas appliances.

The sixth annual Gas Safety Week will see organisations from across the UK work together, to encourage all gas consumers to arrange an annual gas safety check. There will be a particular focus on encouraging the public to reach out to their friends and family, be they elderly parents or a disabled neighbour, to ensure they are gas safe. Poorly maintained gas appliances can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. In the last year, at least 55,200 homes in the UK escaped deadly gas incidents such as these, thanks to engineers switching off dangerous appliances.

With 22 deaths and nearly 1,000 gas-related injuries in the last three years, it’s vital that people make sure their gas appliances are safety checked every year, by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Anyone working on gas appliances while not being Gas Safe registered is working illegally.

Councillor James Baird, Chairman of the Council’s Environmental Services Committee, said: “Gas Safety Week is an annual initiative which the Council is pleased support and work alongside the Gas Safe Register. It gives us the opportunity to encourage our residents to check and make sure gas appliances are safe to use.  We need to stress the dangers and the life-threatening risk unsafe gas work poses and do everything we can to help people stay gas safe”.

Jonathan Samuel, managing director for Gas Safe Register, said: “It’s great to have the support of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council this Gas Safety Week. By working together we can reach more people and help to reduce the number of dangerous gas appliances that could be lurking in the homes of the UK’s 23 million gas consumers.  We know from our own investigations that around one in six gas appliances in the UK are unsafe meaning far too many people are victims of preventable gas related incidents.”

Reach out to those who need help keeping gas safe at home by following these top tips:

Help them to sign up to a free annual gas safety check reminder service at www.staygassafe.co.uk. You could even sign up on their behalf, so the reminder is sent to you each year

Make them aware of the signs that an unsafe gas appliance may cause:

  • A lazy yellow flame instead of a crisp blue flame; soot or staining on or around the appliance; excess condensation in the room 
  • Carbon monoxide (CO) has no smell, taste or colour. The symptoms of CO poisoning include headaches, dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, collapse and loss of consciousness, which can easily be mistaken for something else
  • Make sure they know to ‘Trust the Triangle’ by asking to see their engineer’s Gas Safe ID card and checking it to make sure the engineer is covered to check or fit the appliance in question.

To find out about dangers in your area visit www.StayGasSafe.co.uk and to find a Gas Safe registered engineer call 0800 408 5500 or visit www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk.

Previous Next