Safety begins at home – gas safety checks | Tenant news

With gas safety week almost upon us (12-18 September) we want to remind you that it’s our legal duty to ensure your home is gas safe, and to do this our gas safety engineers need access to your home each year to carry out a check.

You may have read recent stories in the press where homes have been left damaged or structurally unsafe due to a gas explosion, including one incident, which left 20 homes damaged due to one unsafe gas appliance.

Why is it so important?

We know that:

• 1 in 4 homes has a dangerous gas appliance
• 1in 5 boilers inspected by gas safe engineers are unsafe
• 1 in 6 cookers inspected by gas safe engineers are unsafe
• 1 in 2 gas fires inspected by gas safe engineers are unsafe.
                                     

Smoke safety & gas

If you have a smoke detector in your home, you should carry out a weekly check to ensure it’s working.

If you’re concerned that your smoke alarm may not work, contact us as soon as possible.

You can also try vacuuming your smoke alarm to remove any dust and dirt that may have stopped it from working.

If you smell gas in your home it’s essential that you report it to the National Grid Gas immediately by calling 0800 111 999. This line operates 24 hours a day.

In the event of a fire

• If you live in a house, get out of the property as soon as you can using the safest exist
• If you live in a flat, follow the safety instructions on the notices displayed around your building and the evacuation strategy depending on its design
• If you are affected by smoke or fire, feel it’s unsafe to stay in your property or you’re told to leave by the Fire Service, leave by the nearest exit and close doors behind you
• If you’re in a communal area and discover a fire, you should leave the building immediately – don’t return to your flat, activate the alarm point in your communal area to alert others in the building.
• Call 999 as soon as it is safe to do so.

What not to do

• Don’t tackle a fire yourself unless you have received training on how to do this
• Don’t use a lift to avoid becoming trapped.
• Don’t return to your home until the fire service says it’s safe to do so.

Visit our Heath and Safety webpage for more information on gas and fire safety.