This campaign focuses on introducing CO alarms on camping sites. We invite camp site owners to get involved by joining our CO alarm loan scheme. We will provide  them with a number of FREE carbon monoxide alarms which they can use to loan to their campers who are concerned about carbon monoxide. We are also providing information leaflets to raise awareness and are hoping to contribute to the reduction in the number of deaths from this silent killer.

The carbon monoxide alarms provided are portable and battery operated.

If you are interested in joining our carbon monoxide loan scheme or would like some information leaflets, please contact us either by e-mail: angie@safelincs.co.uk or phone 01507 464 154.

The three were found dead in the living room of their home in Co Silgo on December 18. It is thought that a crisp packet that had been put on the open fire was sucked up and blocked the chimney causing the deadly gas to seep into the room.

Their sad deaths highlight how dangerous carbon monoxide is. It is unthinkable that an innocent act of putting a crisp packet on an open fire could have such devastating consequences. If you are unsure what the signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are or would like to find out more here is some information for you.

What is Carbon Monoxide?

Carbon Monoxide (chemical symbol: CO) is a colourless, odourless, tasteless and toxic gas created by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels (gas, oil, coal and wood), as used in our everyday appliances such as heaters, engines and boilers.

Symptoms

The symptoms of mild Carbon Monoxide poisoning are similar to those of viral cold infections: headache, nausea, dizziness, sore throat and dry cough.

More severe poisoning can result in a fast and irregular heart rate, over-breathing (hyperventilation), confusion, drowsiness and difficulty breathing. Ultimately it leads to coma and death.

How to protect yourself and your family

• Make sure rooms and heaters are well ventilated.
• Have your chimneys and flues checked regularly.
• Make sure boilers and heaters are maintained and serviced regularly.
• A Carbon Monoxide Detector will measure the concentration of Carbon Monoxide in a room and sound an alarm if the CO concentration is higher than permitted (as indicated below)

Here is the full report  http://www.independent.ie/national-news/tragic-victims-of-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-returned-to-uk-2981516.html

This year has seen several tragic deaths of campers through carbon monoxide poisoning as well as deaths in homes. These deaths were not only tragic but also avoidable. It is hoped that this years awareness week will increase the knowledge of the general public and prevent such deaths occurring.

If you have an appliance that burns fossil fuel, you could be at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. As this deadly gas has no smell, taste or colour the only way to detect it is by having a carbon monoxide alarm in your home. The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are very similar to flu; headaches, nausea, dizziness, breathlessness and eventually collapse and loss of consciousness.  As a result of the early stages being similar to flu symptoms many cases of carbon monoxide poisoning go undetected.

Ensure that you and your family are protected from this silent killer. Make this year’s carbon monoxide awareness week the one where you take action, ensure that your fossil fuel appliances have been serviced in the last year and that you have a carbon monoxide alarm.

If you think there may be carbon monoxide present in your home, open windows and doors, call the gas board and seek medical advice for any symptoms you may be suffering.

Here are some useful sites for more information on carbon monoxide:

http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/learn_how_to_be_gas_safe/carbon_monoxide_poisoning/co_awareness_week.aspx

http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/co/coawareweek.htm

This year has seen distressing reports in the media of several campers tragically dying from carbon monoxide poisoning in their tents. These unnecessary deaths highlight that many people are still not aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide or how carbon monoxide poisoning can occur. It is hoped that through the Carbon Monoxide – Be Alarmed! campaign that these issues will be addressed and the number of deaths due to this poisonous gas will be reduced.  Shockingly, one in ten people do not even know that there are alarms available to detect carbon monoxide.

If you have any appliance in your home that uses a combustible fuel, such as a gas boiler, cooker or a wood burner, you could be at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. If you do not have an alarm you will have no way of knowing if carbon monoxide is being leaked into your home. This gas has no colour,  odour or taste and the common symptoms experienced are very similar to a cold or flue (headaches, tiredness, dizziness and nausea) and therefore go undiagnosed. If there is a high level of carbon monoxide present you may be rendered unconscious in minutes.

In support of the Be Alarmed! campaign we are offering a Kidde carbon monoxide alarm at a reduced price of £14.99 inc VAT. This alarm has a 5  year warranty, test button and is battery operated.

To view a selection of carbon monoxide alarms available at Safelincs go to http://www.safelincs.co.uk/Battery-Operated-Carbon-Monoxide-Detectors/

In April this year the bodies of Mr Andrew Lineton and Kay-Leigh, his six year old daughter, were discovered in their home in Telford.  An inquest in to their deaths concluded that an unattended chip pan had caught fire in the kitchen. The smoke alarm that was fitted did not have any batteries in it and therefore no warning of the fire was given.

The chip pan fire burnt itself out and the deaths were caused due to carbon monoxide poisoning. As carbon monoxide causes drowsiness and leads to unconsciousness Mr Lineton and his daughter were unaware of the fire and unable to evacuate the house.

These tragic deaths could have been prevented. Ensure that you have a working smoke alarm fitted and that you test it regularly. Never remove batteries from an alarm, even if it is sending out an annoying chirp to alert you of the need to replace batteries. Only remove the batteries when you have fresh ones to replace them with.

To read the full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-15204778

As we now enter the autumn months and evening temperatures start to drop people are beginning to start up their central heating and put their fires on. It is essential that after a prolonged period of not being used appliances are checked and flues are cleared from any blockages.

Gas boilers and fires should be serviced every year and homes with open fires or wood burning stoves should ensure that chimneys are swept annually too.  Failure to carry out these simple steps could result in carbon monoxide being present and occupants becoming unwell or even dying from carbon monoxide poisoning.

This warning comes after another case was highlighted where a woman was lucky to escape with her life, her two pet birds, however, were not so lucky and tragically died.

Ensure that the engineer who services your gas appliances is registered to do so. Ask to see his/her identification card or alternatively you can get information on who is Gas Safe registered from www.gassaferegister.co.uk/about/gas_safe_registered_engineers.aspx

To view the full report: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-15004315

People living in the London area are thought to be at high risk of having boilers, which were not fitted correctly, increasing their chance of exposure to carbon monoxide. The Gas Safety Register reported that seventy-nine per cent of boilers installed by unqualified fitters in the London area are deemed to be putting the occupants at risk or are classified as immediately dangerous.

The Gas Safety watch dog is urging consumers to always check the credentials of any gas fitter, no matter how trustworthy they may appear, before allowing them to do any work on a gas appliance. They are asking for help from the public in informing them of any rogue installers who are claiming to be qualified but who are not.

If you have a gas appliance, have it serviced regularly and always ensure that repairs or new installations are only carried out by someone who has the relevant training and who is registered. You should also ensure that you have a carbon monoxide alarm to alert you should there be a carbon monoxide leak.

Gas Safe Register are highlighting the importance of using registered qualified engineers for all gas installations and services. Unqualified engineers may not be aware of the correct procedures which could have devastating consequences. Incorrectly installed or serviced gas appliances could result in carbon monoxide being produced leading to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Statistics show that around 4,000 people a year suffer from the effect of carbon monoxide poisoning, some 200 of these are hospitalised and approximately 50 people a year die.  This year has seen several deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning of campers taking BBQs into their tents to keep warm. The embers of the BBQ emitted carbon monoxide and the victims were killed as a result of inhaling carbon monoxide. These devastating incidents reveal that there is not enough awareness about carbon monoxide.

If you would like the chance to win one of our free carbon monoxide alarms you can either ‘like us’ on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or register for our CO alarm reminder service, we will remind you to check your carbon monoxide alarms by either e-mail or text.

For full information on how to enter, visit the competition page.

Charlotte Church’s grandfather then installed a carbon monoxide alarm in the home of the singer and her two children, aged 2 and 3 years.

The Carbon Monoxide detector alerted them to the fact that the boiler was faulty and leaking carbon monoxide into the family’s home. This situation could have had fatal consequences, as there is no other way to be alerted to a carbon monoxide leak other than by a CO alarm, as the gas has no odour or colour.

Charlotte Church’s symptoms of headaches and generally feeling unwell are typical for early carbon monoxide poisoning. We offer more information on carbon monoxide.
To read the full story go to: http://music.aol.co.uk/2011/02/09/charlotte-church-gas-leak/

Carbon Monoxide (Chemical Symbol is ‘CO’) is a deadly gas, combining three characteristics which make it hard to detect: it is odorless, colourless and has no taste.

In domestic situations it can be generated by any fuel burning appliance. Gas boilers, gas fires, wood burning stoves are just three examples. The generation of carbon monoxide increases if vents are poorly sited, if inadequate ventilation exists, if vents or flues are blocked or if the appliance is burning inefficiently. It is therefore vital that all your fuel burning appliances are regularly serviced. This should be done by a qualified person with “ Gas Safe” accreditation. You should ensure that the Engineer can measure CO levels coming from your appliance. Not all engineers have such instruments.

We recommend that households install CO detectors. Only choose CO alarms that have been tested to the European standard EN50291. The certification to this standard has to be displayed on the packaging by law. Do not be fooled by alarms that state “ Designed to comply with…” as these are usually not independently tested. Alarms properly accredited to the standard have amongst many safety critical features an audible alarm and LED indicators.

The EN50291 standard requires that the printed alarm manual contains information about the dangers of CO, what to do when the alarm sounds and who to contact. Make sure you read the manual when you install the CO alarm and keep it in case the alarm sounds.

What happens if your alarm sounds and what should you do?

If the instrument has gone into alarm you must assume that you have an CO event – remember you are dealing with a gas that you cannot see, smell or taste. An alarm is a very loud sound. If the alarm is just beeping softly at 30 second intervals it is a different warning, such as a low battery warning. (See your manual for details).

All Kidde CO alarms are 100% tested in CO gas at the factory and independently tested by BSI so we stand by the reliability and quality of our products.

People’s reaction to an alarm vary.

Some ignore it, take out the battery and ring our help desk the next day.

The conversation often goes as follows…

Customer: “ Hello, my CO alarm went off last night and I had nothing on so it is faulty”

Helpdesk: “Have you got the alarm with you”

Customer: “ Yes”

Helpdesk: “ Please put the batteries in and press the test button”

Usually the alarm will test OK which our helpdesk are able to hear on the telephone.

Of course if the alarm beeps we may conclude low battery or probably the end-of-life indicator. We will advise accordingly.

If the CO alarm is doing something out of the ordinary we will replace the alarm, if in warranty, within 5 working days.

Let us go back to the CO alarm that actually went into alarm but the next morning is testing OK.

The helpdesk will conclude that there has been a CO event and will talk through where the CO detector it is sited, what appliances were in use and whether the appliances have been serviced by a qualified Engineer.

What can cause a false alarm?

Of course the alarm may have developed  a fault – and this should show with the fault indicator – a combination of flashing LEDs or an amber LED flashing. In this case we will replace the alarm if in warranty.

People ask if anything else can set the CO alarm off. It is unlikely that in domestic situations this will happen. Hydrogen gas can set it off, as can some chemicals not likely to be used in the home.

In a case we were recently involved with, the CO alarm sounded and the caller claimed it was false alarming. When we talked through the circumstances we discovered he was stripping down his motorcycle engine in the room where the alarm was situated using many concentrated solvents , including petrol, to clean the parts.

The manual gives more information on solvents that can affect the alarm. Most of these would not be widely known!

Another real case – CO alarms sounding apparently falsely. We found that they had been installed in a warehouse where gas powered fork lift trucks were operating and the exhaust fumes were setting them off. (A lesson not to fit CO alarms in your garage ).

Another case in a remote Scottish Croft:

The owner said his alarm was sounding regularly. The alarms appeared on examination to be fine. On further investigation  it was found that he had a back-up power system of lead/accumulator batteries. As the batteries charge they produce hydrogen gas which can trigger CO alarms. This issue also happens regularly on boats where batteries are charged.

So, why might your CO alarm have gone off?

At a level of 50ppm (parts per million) of CO the alarm will go off after 90 minutes. You may have been cooking, generating low levels  of CO gas (perhaps your stove flame was slightly blocked and burning inefficiently), turned the stove off, closed the kitchen door and therefore sealed the gas in, leaving the alarm to sound an hour later.

In another case CO gas was entering a neighbouring house when the flue of an application was faulty, unfortunately resulting in a fatality.

When their CO alarms go off responsible customers will switch off the appliances, ventilate the house and ring the gas board. They will rapidly receive a visit from an Engineer. The following text is an extract from a typical letter we received following a callout:

“….the alarm went off so I called XXXXX. They arrived and checked my boiler and said it was working correctly. The Engineer said that there was a fault with your alarm….”

We would make a number of comments about this:

- If CO had been present then the ventilation will have cleared it.

- Did the engineer test for CO in the flue gas of the boiler? Not all Engineers carry such instruments. We know of one Engineer who used our alarm to check the boiler. Other engineers have wrongly used LPG gas detectors to detect carbon monoxide, confusing the issue with leaks of piped gas.

We made a study of such events. We requested the alarms to be returned to us and tested them in our laboratory. In all cases we found that the alarms were working perfectly.

So

-          Make sure that you understand from the manual what any bleeps from your CO alarm mean. They could indicate a low battery, the end of life in some alarms or a fault indication. In the latter case contact the supplier for a replacement.

-          Understand thatcarbon monoxide can come from a number of appliances including your neighbour’s and that it can build up and set off an alarm after you have gone to bed.

-          Make sure your appliances are serviced by an accredited engineer and that the engineer has the equipment to measure for CO

-          In the case of an alarm follow the instructions in your manual.

-          Fit only CO alarms certified to the EN standard by an independent test body ( eg BSI, LPCB )