Gas appliances are usually very safe to use and this is proven by the rarity with which serious incidents occur, despite millions of homes using them.
For that reason, any incident that does occur can make a lot of headlines, not least because the consequences can be devastating.
This was the case in Edinburgh earlier this month, when an 84-year-old man died in a gas explosion that devastated a home in the Baberton Mains area of the city. Another man and a woman were taken to hospital. Other residents of the street had to wait days for safety inspections to be completed before they could return home.
Unsafe Appliances In The Spotlight
Speaking about its own investigation, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) highlighted that the catastrophe was caused by an appliance in the home, not the local network. It said: “The focus of our investigation relates to the internal gas installations at the property and not the network.”
That provides a reminder that ensuring appliances are safe should be a top priority. In this respect, gas appliances are like aircraft; as long as they are looked after by well-qualified engineers, they are perfectly safe. If something goes wrong, the consequences can be deadly, but this is thankfully very rare.
Even in a city as big as London, you won’t read of fatal domestic gas explosions often. There was one in 2022 in Thornton Heath, which killed a four-year-old girl, but once again, this made headlines chiefly because of its rarity.
Of course, an explosion by its nature is newsworthy because of the visual consequences of a flattened building and debris strewn across a street, but some killers are of the silent but deadly kind. For instance, a gas appliance with a badly fitted flue can lead to carbon monoxide filling the air in a room, potentially leading to lethal poisoning.
Both the risk of a gas leak that can be ignited and carbon monoxide seepage can be prevented by a skilled engineer, which is why the Gas Safe Register exists. If you need a gas appliance repair, the first thing you should do is check that you are having it done by a Gas Safe-accredited engineer.
It is a legal requirement that engineers are qualified and accredited via the Gas Safe register. Your engineer can prove this by showing you their card and you should not be afraid to ask for this, as they will all happily show you. When you see this, you can be reassured you are in the hands of a professional who knows what they are doing.
Unfortunately, as in many areas of life, some unregistered cowboys will offer their services. This may be illegal, just as the cowboy builder who wants to be paid in cash for the dodgy driveway is. But the risks you can take by using such services are high and simply not worth taking.
There are some strong legal penalties for such illegal work. For example, in October the HSE reported on the outcome of a case it had brought against Thomas Murray, a builder in Berkshire who had carried out gas installation work at a property in Maidenhead despite not being qualified to do so.
In the course of renovating and extending the property, he installed a gas boiler, relocated a gas meter and fitted pipes for both appliances. A Gas Safe registered engineer had been called to install the boiler, but had left the work undone after raising safety concerns, so Mr Murray did it himself despite his lack of qualifications.
The homeowners smelt gas and while Mr Murray carried out a gas leak test and found no trace of one, their concerns persisted. They called in a Gas Safe accredited engineer, who found a series of faults with the piping.
Mr Murray received an eight-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, plus 250 hours of community service after he was found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Speaking after the case at Reading Crown Court, HSE inspector Karen Morris said of the builder: “His failures could have led to catastrophic and tragic consequences.” She added that the HSE “not hesitate to prosecute builders who fail to ensure that gas work under their control is conducted safely using Gas Safe Registered engineers”.Whether you are having new appliances fitted or suspect there is a problem with existing devices, including signs of possible carbon monoxide leakage, it is vital to always use someone who is both legal and competent to do the job safely. That way, you will be extremely unlikely to be the subject of a tragic headline.