Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week is a time when the UK’s gas professional associations, alarm and detector manufacturers, parliament, councils, charities and other interested parties come together to promote carbon monoxide safety standards in homes.
It is something that is too often overlooked here in the UK; Carbon monoxide poisoning is extremely dangerous and often fatal.
Currently, in the UK, it is only necessary to install an alarm in privately rented properties and not social housing which we feel isn’t acceptable. We think that all vulnerable people should have things like this taken care of for them so that the risk of illness and fatality is reduced.
There are currently 60 deaths per year in the UK and many more that fall ill and become hospitalised.
It is often referred to as ‘The Silent Killer’ because many of its victims don’t realise that they are slowly being poisoned. Usually, people become dizzy, sleepy or nauseous and feel like they are coming down with some sort of flu; little do they know that they are slowly being poisoned. It can be caused by unserviced appliances, blocked chimnies or stoves and is very easily undetected without correct equipment in place.
At Sustain, we have made it a condition that we proactively enforce all of our landlords to have Carbon Monoxide detectors fitted in their homes which we inspect annually.