safety

Gas safety

Every year nearly 40 people die as a result of faulty gas appliances. All these deaths could be prevented if appliances were professionally installed, checked regularly by experts and if people knew of the dangers relating to faulty gas appliances. It is vital that you can recognise the danger signs.
Your landlord is required by law to make sure that all gas installations such as fires, boilers and flues are professionally installed, well maintained, safe and serviced annually by a British Gas or CORGI registered engineer. Insist that you are shown gas safety certificates as evidence that this has been done. Landlords are required to keep a record of services to show to tenants on request.

Gas leaks

Leaking gas is a fire hazard. If you smell gas contact Transco (0800 111 999) immediately. Turn off the supply at the main meter and open windows. Do not switch anything electrical on or off, including lights

Carbon Monoxide

Badly maintained gas appliances have killed students by carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Carbon monoxide is created when the combustion of fuel is incomplete. You will not be able to smell or taste this gas. Danger signs on the appliances might include:

• Soot or sooty smell
• A yellow or orange flame instead of blue
• Scorch marks on any part of the appliance
• Brown or black discoloration of burners
• Cracked, damaged or blocked flues through which gas could escape
• Pilot lights that frequently go out
  Blocked ventilation
• Excessive condensation
  

Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include:

• Drowsiness
• Headaches
• Dizzy feeling on standing up
• Feeling sick
• Chest pains
• Tiredness, palpitations, diarrhoea and stomach pains
• Unconsciousness

Minimise risks:

• Make sure all appliances have been professionally installed and serviced within the last year
• Do not seal up your room to make it draught free
• Use appliances appropriately - gas cookers are not for heating kitchens
• Open flue-type heaters in bathrooms and bedrooms should be used with particular care: keep the room ventilated and turn the heater off once you are in the bath or in bed
• Do not restrict ventilation to any appliance and make sure all flues and chimneys are clear

Don't compromise on safety. If your landlord does not respond quickly to an apparent problem with a gas appliance, stop using the appliance and contact the Environmental Health department of your local council or the Regional Health & Safety Executive, either of which can order a landlord to carry out work.

If you are worried that a gas appliance is unsafe
Stop using it
Turn off the gas supply
Ventilate the room
Contact your landlord or British Gas

Your landlord has a legal responsibility for making sure that gas appliances are professionally installed, well maintained and safe.

It is illegal for unregistered people to work on gas appliances. Ask to see a gas safety certificate.

Electrical safety

It is the landlord's responsibility to maintain installations for electricity supply including electrical sockets and wiring.
Danger signs include:

• Switches that give off sparks
• Frayed insulation
• Plugs that heat up
  
  Never overload sockets with lots of adapters
  

Fire safety

Shared houses have a much greater risk of fire, caused either by kitchen fires or fires started in individual rooms from things like candles, oil burners or heaters.

Furniture

All furniture supplied in the course of letting any accommodation containing upholstery must comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (and amendments).

Furniture affected by this rule includes:

• New, second-hand and re-upholstered suites
• Beds and headboards
• Mattresses
• Futons
• Cushions

If you have any doubts about the furniture in your house question the landlord, they must provide furniture which complies with the regulations.

Alternatively contact Cardiff Trading Standards who can enforce the regulations.

Candles

In the first nine months of 1997 there were 55 injuries and 2 deaths caused by fires involving candles in Cardiff.

If you want to use candles in your house you should minimise the risks by following the advice of the South Glamorgan Fire Service:

• Make sure that your house is fitted with smoke detectors that work
• Place candles on flat, safe surfaces
• Make sure that all candles are completely extinguished before leaving the room or going to sleep
• Never place candles near curtains
• Strong colours and fragrances can make candles more flammable