No guessing with gas

Natural gas for heating and cooking is a fuel that is often perceived as a cheap alternative to electricity. Some even prefer to use it instead of electricity. But for all the convenience it brings, we should remember that gas has a deadly side to it, says Menashe Scharf 

 

Not only can gas bring about carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of appliances not burning their fuel efficiently, but a build up of gas can also cause an explosion due to its high level of flammability. Great care must therefore be taken in installing and maintaining gas appliances, and also in their use. 

 

In the home

The Health and Safety Executive recommend that domestic gas appliances in the home be checked for their continued safety once every 12 months. Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, only Council of Register Gas Installers (CORGI) engineers are allowed to service and maintain gas appliances. In fact it is now illegal for an unqualified person to interfere with the gas supply into a property, or work on or install a gas appliance. Anyone installing a gas cooker for example must be CORGI-Registered. Homeowners with knowledge of gas appliance installations could disconnect and/or reconnect bayonet fittings if they wanted to - for the latest rules governing this please refer to the 1998 Regulations and updates provided by the Health and Safety Executive. But the law states that a CORGI-Registered engineer MUST be the person who connects the hose / appliance to the gas supply. 

 

In rented property

 

Renting out property in the UK requires that landlords adhere to a mass of laws to ensure the safety of their tenants. Among them is the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. Under this umbrella of legislation landlords must:

 

Use a CORGI-Registered engineer for installation of new gas appliances, pipe work and flues -- the flues being the pipes and vents that remove burnt gas from appliances and out of the house.

 

Use a CORGI-Registered engineer for maintenance of gas appliances, pipe work and flues (as above). 

 

Arrange for annual gas safety checks at the rented property every 12 months. Checks are to be performed by a CORGI-Registered engineer. If gas installations are passed as safe the engineer will issue a Gas Safety Certificate. Should repair work be necessary, the landlord MUST (by law) enlist the services of a CORGI-Registered engineer to carry out the repair work.

 

Keep records of safety checks for a minimum of two years.

 

Provide a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate to existing tenants in the property within 28 days of issue by the engineer. For new tenants a copy of the current Gas Safety Certificate must be supplied at the beginning of the tenancy.

 

For landlords the requirements may seem like a lot of red tape, and just a further expense in running a rental property. However, the Regulations are there for a reason -- to save lives. 

 

Safety checks

 

In September 2005 52-year old Charles Cook from the Middleton area of Greater Manchester suffered serious burns after a gas explosion at his home in the early hours of the morning. The blast, thought to have been caused by a gas leak, destroyed the property and damaged neighbouring houses. Mr Cook was taken to hospital and spent time in intensive care to recover from the ordeal. Sadly, Mr Cook's experience is repeated all too often in homes around the country where regular safety checks on gas appliances have been absent. In some cases the blasts are fatal resulting in a tragic loss of life from situations that might have been avoided had safety checks been implemented. 

 

What to do if you smell gas

 

While gas safety checks are designed to keep you safe long-term, there is still the chance that a gas appliance might malfunction, or that a gas leak develops in the pipe work between annual safety checks. If you smell gas, this is what you need to do:

 

Call the National Grid's Gas Emergency number immediately. It is a freephone number -- 0800 111 999

Open all doors and windows to help gas escape. DO NOT use light switches or handle a naked flame. Both could ignite the gas.

Shut off the gas supply. This is done at the meter cupboard by operating the shut-off valve. For your peace of mind and for your safety it is a good idea to locate and practice operating the shut off valve. By doing so you'll have practical experience to call on in the event of a real life gas emergency.

 

CORGI

 

CORGI started life as a voluntary organisation in 1970 following a gas cooker explosion in a block of flats in London that caused part of the building to collapse. Some 4,000 gas operatives joined the scheme initially, and by 1991 it became a statutory requirement for anyone working with gas to gain CORGI registration. Today CORGI has some 110,000 engineers operating in the UK. Their work is regulated in the field by CORGI inspectors, each CORGI engineer being required to prove their competence with gas once every five years.