Ideal Boilers are supporting a campaign to help change the current law on carbon monoxide (CO) alarms, in an attempt to stop needless deaths from the poisonous gas.
Honeywell and Plumb Center, the companies which are leading the campaign, are calling for CO alarms to be mandatory when any carbon burning appliance is present in England and Wales. The law has already in motion in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
An approximate 40 people per year die from accidental CO poisoning in England and Wales, there have been around 4,000 taken to hospital due to symptoms of the poisoning, which may lead to things like brain damage and strokes, according to the Health and Safety Executive. The true amount of deaths may be much higher than recorded because CO levels are not normally checked during post mortems in the country.
The campaign has launched an e-petition (online petition) with government and the aim is to secure 100,000 names in order to force a debate within The House of Commons.
Shaun Edwards, managing director of Ideal, said:
“Ideal Boilers is very happy to give its support to this critical campaign, one death from CO poisoning, is one too many.
“We work tirelessly to ensure the quality of every boiler we produce because customer safety is paramount. It is also vital that every carbon-burning appliance is regularly serviced and maintained to ensure its safety.
“However, a CO alarm is a critical second line of defence and we would urge all installers to go to: www.no-to-co.co.uk and pledge their support and ask their customers to do the same. We need to make this happen.
“We would also call on installers to recommend a CO alarm, whether it’s the law or not. It’s a small price to pay to secure a family’s safety.”