Northern Ireland is the first country in the UK to take an important step forward in protecting its residents and tenants against the potentially fatal dangers of carbon monoxide (CO).
Changes to Northern Ireland’s Building Regulations come into force from October 31st, making it a legal requirement to fit carbon monoxide alarms in all dwellings where a new or replacement combustion appliance – such as a boiler or solid fuel stove - is to be installed.
At a special Roundtable event held in Belfast this month, delegates welcomed these changes as significant progress in the fight to eliminate the dangers of this deadly gas. However, all agreed that more still needs to be done in raising awareness of the risks and consequences of carbon monoxide if more deaths are to be prevented.
Hosted by home safety products specialist, Sprue Safety Products, the event brought together representatives from housing associations, councils and health organisations in the Province to discuss and understand the impact of this latest legislation with speakers from Building Control Northern Ireland, Gas Safe Register, The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) and the charity Gis A Hug Foundation.
Billy Gillespie and Patrick Hobson from Building Control Northern Ireland opened the discussion by outlining the new regulations; and in particular Part L covering combustion appliances and flues. Summarising the changes, Billy and Patrick looked at how these changes could impact on housing associations.
Catherine and Jonny McFerran set up the Gis A Hug Foundation in memory of their son Neil and his lifelong friend Aaron Davidson, who both died from carbon monoxide poisoning in 2010. Catherine welcomed the new regulations as a positive step forward, but said it was disappointing that the rest of the UK is not going in the same direction. “Awareness needs to be out there,” she said.
It is estimated that only 16% of homes in the UK have CO detectors, yet an average of one person every week is still killed by this toxic gas and nearly five million experience dangerous levels in their homes each year.
The danger is - with no taste or smell - carbon monoxide is undetectable to the human senses and because symptoms are often mistaken for other ailments such as flu, its presence can go unnoticed until it’s too late. Even low levels over a few hours can be as lethal as high levels over a short amount of time, causing lasting damage to your health.
