| Return
to List |
| |
| Are you being poisoned in your own home? |
| |
| Date:
25/03/04 |
Author:
Press Office |
|
| |
DODGY DIY PUTTING BRITS AT RISK
Britons are risking their lives and the lives of their families and neighbours by cutting corners in gas safety, according to a recent survey conducted by CORGI to kick-off its’ Spring gas safety campaign ‘Never DIY with gas.’
The campaign, which launches today, aims to warn homeowners of the dangers of DIY-ing with gas appliances. It coincides with events at Norwich Crown Court, where a ‘DIY’ or unregistered installer has pleaded guilty to manslaughter following the death of two teenagers from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, after he incorrectly fitted a gas fire in their home.
Dubbed the silent killer, CO is omitted when a gas appliance is badly installed or maintained and claims the lives of more than 30 people each year, while many hundreds more are left to live with the consequences.
The survey found that many of us are tackling jobs in the house, which should be left strictly to CORGI registered professionals. Of those questioned, an alarming number (ten per cent) of people confessed to dicing with death by tampering with gas appliances.
The research also suggests that more than 800,000 UK homeowners would attempt to fit a gas oven or fire themselves even though it could prove fatal if done incorrectly, and a foolhardy five per cent of those asked admitted to taking their chances with the local cowboy! Thankfully, the majority (82 per cent) would have the sense to call in a CORGI registered installer.
CORGI Director Steve Bratt, said: “Our campaign deliberately coincides with the annual upsurge of interest in Do-It-Yourself in the Spring. We want people to be aware that although gas is a very safe fuel when handled correctly, it can also be lethal if someone is working with it when they aren’t properly qualified and don’t know what they are doing.”
Strict gas regulations say that individuals must be competent to carry out gas-work or they could be breaking the law and have legal action taken against them. The only way consumers can be sure that a properly qualified and competent person is working on their gas appliance is to always use a CORGI registered gas installer.
The survey also discovered that only two in every ten UK households (20 per cent) have a carbon monoxide detector, compared to nine in ten (88 per cent), which have a smoke alarm. This is despite the fact that lethal carbon monoxide (CO) is impossible to detect naturally as it has no colour, taste or smell.
Steve continues: “While it’s good news that people are so fire conscious, when you consider there are more than 20 million gas consumers in the UK and only a few of them have a carbon monoxide detector, that leaves an awful lot of people who are unnecessarily risking their lives.
“In terms of preventing a CO leak, there is no replacement for regular gas safety checks of gas appliances by a CORGI registered installer, but for the sake of £30 - the average cost of an audible CO detector - it seems a small price to pay.”
And as a nation, we Brits aren’t even very clued-up when it comes to recognising gas safety problems. Under half of those questioned (43 per cent) knew that discolouration or staining around a gas appliance is a significant danger sign, while one in five (18 per cent) mistakenly thought a radiator not being hot enough could be suspicious and less than a fifth (15 per cent) knew excessive condensation could indicate something sinister.
To find a CORGI registered installer in your area or for more information on gas safety, log-on to
www.corgi-gas-safety.com or call 0870 401 2300.
Media contact: Lucie Dudley on 0870 401 2254 or [email protected]
Research questions:
Q1.Do you consider yourself to be a risk-taker?
Q2.Have you ever done any of the following?
1.Skydiving
2. Cheated on your partner
3. Taken a sickie from work
4. Avoided having work done to your car 5. Attempted a dangerous task in the home
6. None of the above
Q3.Are you a DIY enthusiast?
Q4.Have you ever done any of the following tasks around the home?
1. Tampered with a leaky tap
2. Put down floorboards
3. Attempted a loft conversion
4. Tried to install your own gas fire
5. Tried to fix a broken gas appliance
6. None of the above
Q5.If you had a gas appliance that needed to be installed, what would you do first?
1. Call my dad
2. Try and do it myself
3. Ask the local handyman to help
4. Call in a CORGI registered installer
5. None of the above
Q6.Do you have a
1. CO detector
2. Smoke detector
3. None of the above
Q7.Which of the following would indicate you have a gas safety problem with your central heating system?
Q1. Loud ticking noise from the central heating programmer
2. Excessive condensation
3. Smell of gas
4. Radiators not hot enough
5. Leaking radiator valve
6. Discolouration around fire
Q8.What does it mean if someone is CORGI registered?
1. That they are licensed to look after the Queen’s dogs
2. They are fully qualified to carry out gas work
3. They belong to a group that deals in home DIY insurance
4. None of the above
|
| |
| Return
to List |
