Carbon monoxide leaks - Fatalities in suspected gas leak in London accommodation

Following on from the news last month about the death of a Spanish tourist linked to a gas leak at The Mayflower Hotel in Kensington London, it is with sadness that more fatalities have been reported in another suspected gas leak. This time in a house in Edgeware, North London.

With safety standards for accommodation blocks and hotels under the spotlight following the Grenfell tower disaster and other recent building fires the importance of ensuring that gas safety standards are met is of paramount concern.

In the last week it has been reported that two men have been found dead at a house in Edgware, north London, in a suspected carbon monoxide leak. Five other people, including two children, were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.

Metropolitan Police detectives are currently treating the deaths as "unexplained".

"At this early stage, police believe that there was a possible carbon monoxide leak at the address," the force said in a statement.

To ensure that your business is kept safe and reduce the likelihood of such terrible tragedies from occurring, we have provided Gas safety tips and requirements to keep your business safe:

• Annual industry safety tests need to be conducted on all gas appliances and flues in the premises to ensure that safety requirements are met.
• Gas safety tests would need to be conducted by engineers who are registered with the Gas Safety Register.
• Find or check for a gas safety registered engineer in your area using the following link https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/find-an-engineer/or you could contact 0800 4085500.
• Awareness of symptoms of Carbon Monoxide poisoning must be at the forefront of everyone’s mind. These include loss of consciousness, breathlessness, nausea, headaches, dizziness and collapse.
• Provision of audible Carbon Monoxide monitors in the location of gas appliances and equipment cannot be understated. This can prove to be a very valuable early warning system and could save your business from a possible catastrophe.
• Ensure that gas appliances are used for their intended purpose. Where gas cookers are used, ensure that adequate ventilation is provided. It is important that ventilation systems are not blocked or obscured.
• Whilst there is no actual requirement for routine gas tightness tests to be carried out, annual gas safety inspection tests do need to be carried out on commercial properties.

Instances where gas safety tightness tests are required:

In the event where the gas meter has either been replaced or damaged, gas safety tightness tests would need to be conducted by the provider.

For further information regarding gas safety requirements:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2451/made

https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help-and-advice/gas-safety-in-the-home/gas-safety-tips/

https://news.sky.com/story/two-men-dead-after-carbon-monoxide-leak-in-edgware-london-11323400

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-43692668

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-43310296