Gas Safety Week 19-25 September 2016 North West London
Culkin Plumbing and Heating help keep North West London safe this Gas Safety Week
In support of Gas Safety Week (19-25 September 2016), local Gas Safe registered engineers from Culkin Plumbing and Heating based in Willesden Green are carrying out a (free) Gas Safety inspection in Ashford Place (formerly Cricklewood Homeless Concern), offering further free Gas Safety inspections to charities along side cut price Homeowner Gas Safety inspections to raise awareness of gas safety issues and urge local residents to support the most vulnerable in society in order to keep them safe.
We are looking to do four more free inspections for Charities, must be in our local area; an NW postcode or W9, W10.
We will also be offering for the course of the week; 20% off to all homeowners for Gas Safety Inspections, 30% off to OAP’s and people with health conditions or impairments.
Gas Safe Register surveyed 1,199 registered engineers between July 2015 and June 2016. Amongst the surveyed gas engineers, 46% said they had switched off a deadly appliance in the last year. There are 120,000 registered engineers, 46% equates to at least 55,200 homes avoiding a potentially dealy gas incident.
Gas Safety Week aims to encourage people to reach out to friends and family, be it elderly parents or a disabled neighbour, to ensure they get their gas appliances - along with their own - safety checked at least once a year. 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.
By law, only Gas Safe registered engineers can work on gas appliances. There have been 22 deaths and nearly 1,000 gas-related injuries in the last three years3. An estimated quarter of a million illegal gas jobs are carried out every year by unregistered workers, who do not have the skills or the qualifications to do the job safely. It’s therefore vital you make sure your engineer is registered with the official gas authority, Gas Safe Register.
Twenty two people died from gas related incidents in the UK in the last three years and 949 non-fatal incidents were reported (Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/tables/ridgas1.xls )
Jeff Culkin owner and operator of Culkin Plumbing and Heating said: “We regularly go to people’s homes and find unsafe gas appliances and unsafe situations. Sometimes these either haven’t been serviced in years or have been worked on by illegal fitters, the issue only usually comes to light when a reputable landlord buys the property and has the safety check, or a homeowner moves in and has an inspection at the time. In most cases residents are unaware of the dangers. Outside the rental market regular safety checks are not carried out. For this reason, we’re pledging our support for Gas Safety Week and doing our bit to raise awareness of gas safety issues among the public in our local area and let residents know what steps they can take to keep themselves safe.”
Jonathan Samuel, managing director for Gas Safe Register, said: “We know from our own investigations that around one in six gas appliances in the UK are unsafe 4, meaning far too many people are victims of preventable gas related incidents. It’s great to have the support of Culkin Plumbing and Heating this Gas Safety Week. By working together we can raise further awareness of gas safety, to help reduce the number of dangerous gas appliances that could be lurking in people’s homes.”
Gas Safe Register has inspected gas appliances in 174,345 homes across Great Britain for the period 1 April 2010 – 1 April 2016. One in six homes (17.5%) were identified as unsafe.
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 could cause:
o A lazy yellow flame instead of a crisp blue flame; soot or staining on or around the appliance; excess condensation in the room
o 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.
Regards,
Jeff Culkin ACIPHE RP RHP
Senior Plumbing and Heating Engineer
Culkin Plumbing & Heating
Tel: 02030023737
For media enquiries relating to Gas Safe Register or Gas Safety Week please contact Gas Safe Register press office on 0207 654 2199 or email press@gassaferegister.co.uk
Gas Safe Register is the registration body appointed by the Health and Safety Executive to manage the gas safety register in the UK, Isle of Man and Guernsey. It is a legal requirement for anyone carrying out domestic and commercial gas work to be registered, and comply with the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998. The register of more than 122,000 gas engineers held by Gas Safe Register aims to protect people from unsafe gas work. Gas Safe Register assesses the competence of engineers by inspecting the gas work they have carried out to make sure they are safe to work on gas. Gas Safe Register is focused on gas safety and campaigns to raise awareness of gas safety risks associated with using illegal gas workers.
