Around 12 million UK homes are not protected by a carbon monoxide alarm – leaving many lives at risk, experts warn.
Known as the ‘silent killer’, the gas is completely invisible, it has no smell and no taste. The only definitive way to detect a leak is with an alarm.
Leaks, which can kill in just minutes, can be caused by incorrectly installed and poorly maintained household appliances like boilers, cookers and fires.
But families are unaware of such dangers and are more likely to install locks on their windows than a potentially life-saving CO alarm, a survey revealed.
Known as the ‘silent killer’, carbon monoxide is completely invisible, it has no smell and no taste. The only definitive way to detect a leak is with an alarm
Some 2,000 people were quizzed for the latest Gas Safe Register (GSR) poll, which produced ‘worrying’ findings.
What did the survey find?
It showed that 46 per cent of those questioned don’t have the device, potentially putting themselves at risk of CO poisoning.
Families are more likely to fit a smoke alarm (83 per cent), double glazing (76 per cent) or window locks (70 per cent), the survey found.
In contrast, slightly more than half of households were likely to fit a CO alarm, Jonathan Samuel, chief executive of GSR, said.
He added: ‘We are encouraging families to ask a Gas Safe registered engineer to check that their gas appliances are safe and sound as a first line of defence from potential CO poisoning.
GORDON’S KITCHEN NIGHTMARE
It comes after celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay had to deal with his own kitchen nightmare after one of his restaurants was caught up in a major health scare.
Two people, believed to be staff members, at the chef’s London House brasserie had to be assessed for suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in July.
Adjoining flats were evacuated after a CO alarm was activated. Two fire engines and an ambulance were called to the scene, in Battersea, South-West London.
‘Worryingly, nearly half of the people we asked didn’t know the signs of dangerous gas appliances – a key cause of CO poisoning.
‘The signs that your gas appliance isn’t working safely are: a lazy yellow flame instead of a crisp blue flame, soot or staining on or around the appliance, or excess condensation in the room.’
The dangers of carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, coal and wood don’t burn fully.
Between 1995 and 2015, only 35 per cent of deaths from CO poisoning were actually from mains gas appliances or heating.
Appliances that burn solid fuel, portable gas bottles and, petrol and diesel that represented the majority of the remaining 65 per cent.
Each year in the UK over 200 people are admitted to hospital with suspected CO poisoning and around 50 people die unnecessarily from it.
Symptoms to be aware of include breathlessness, headaches, nausea, dizziness, collapse and the loss of consciousness.
The side-effects of exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide are not always obvious can be similar to those of food poisoning and flu.
BBQ health warning
It comes after another GSR poll in June found that four in five Britons do not know about the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning while having a barbecue.
The survey revealed people recognise other risks of barbecuing – such as food poisoning and burns – above the danger of the deadly fumes that are emitted.