Not allowed gas fire in bedroom?

ollski

ankspon wrote: »

My MIL slept in the room with a gas fire for 6 months when she was terminally ill,god bless her x

If it is a fire rather than a fire / back boiler unit depending on the date of installation and safety devices on the fire it can be perfectly ok.

Mojisola

ollski wrote: »

The ventilation is probably adequate but the installation is no longer in a situation it was designed for. The chances are a room which has turned into a sleeping room like this will have changed from a few hours occupancy a day to more like 20!, also if you are sleeping in it and there is a carbon monoxide leak you sleep right though the warning signs. I had a school friend who slept at his grandmothers house in the living room, she left the fire on low to keep the chill off, he died.

That just isn't my experience of elderly people. My parents probably spent as long in the lounge with the gas fire on as they did in their bedroom. It's the safety of the fire itself and adequate ventilation that's vital.

Zend needs to tackle the problem on several fronts. Mother shouldn't be coming home until Social Services and the Occupational Therapists have assessed the house and Mother's ability to cope at home. Father should have a carer's assessment so his needs can be looked at. Someone like AgeUK should do a benefits assessment to make sure the couple are getting all the money they are entitled to.

It sounds as if Father needs some paid care to help support him with his wife's problems.

Not having any hot water on tap is unacceptable for elderly people who can't safely carry pans of very hot water around so the heating system needs urgent attention.

If Zend can get a local plumber in to assess the situation, it would be worth it. BG will offer to replace everything but a local firm would probably be cheaper. Do try to find a firm who is recommended by someone you trust.

If Zend does nothing else - get a couple of carbon monoxide alarms in the house!

Zend

Thanks everyone for your help. The only other downstairs room is the sitting room with an electric fire. I cannot see my father agreeing to move the rooms around. He had a brand new carbon monoxide detector fitted yesterday. The fire is a fire/back boiler and I think is about 30-40 years old. He never has any windows open.

PasturesNew

We had a fire/back boiler ... and ventilation. That ventilation left a freezing cold draught across the whole floor to the height of the ventilation (about 12" off the floor).

Those gas fires can be tricky to turn on/off with osteoporosis.... I came down one morning and my mum was asleep on the sofa - and she'd not turned the gas fire off, it was leaking gas from number 1 position.... she thought she'd turned it off (to 0), but hadn't. Good job I was there.

Mojisola

PasturesNew wrote: »

Those gas fires can be tricky to turn on/off with osteoporosis..

When my Dad mentioned he had problems turning the fire on and off, the engineer sent him a disability control handle that makes it much easier.

george1939

Zend wrote: »

Hi, I wonder if anyone can help me. My mother is an invalid and has to sleep downstairs and has done so for the past 9 months. A radiator was leaking and the man from the British Gas who came to mend it has now told my father that he cannot have the bed downstairs because there is a gas fire in the room and the boiler is in the adjacent garage. The repair man then slapped a do not use sticker on the fire. At the moment my mother is in a care home but will be returning to her own home in a weeks time. My father is panicing about my mother coming home if he cannot use the fire as it heats all their water. He is 79 and is not in the best of health, there is no way that he can get my mother upstairs. Sorry this is so long but I could really do with some advice. Thanks

THE LAW

by law, with the exception of the room-sealed type, there are restrictions on the
installation of gas appliances such as fires, boilers and heaters in sleeping
accommodation. These restrictions apply only to appliances fitted after 1 January 1996
and to those already installed in rooms in rented accommodation which have been
converted to bedrooms after 31 October 1998. Appliances which are not room-sealed, eg
conventional gas fires of 14 kilowatts or less, may only be fitted if they have a device which
automatically turns the gas supply off before a dangerous level of fumes can build up. However,
for appliances above 14 kilowatts only those of a room-sealed type are allowed in such
accommodation;

Richie-from-the-Boro

Zend wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your help. The only other downstairs room is the sitting room with an electric fire. I cannot see my father agreeing to move the rooms around. He had a brand new carbon monoxide detector fitted yesterday. The fire is a fire/back boiler and I think is about 30-40 years old. He never has any windows open.

Its too late now to do anything this week, you really need to understand what you might do next and what options you have, your starting point is to get a couple of free quotes for the repair / replacement and making good of the fire & back boiler ASP - that way you and the family will at least have an objective idea of what's required.

BobQ

One of the problems with BG is that they issue these "at risk" assessments based on whether the current installation complies with the latest regulations, in so many cases it does not. This does not mean its unsafe only that if it were to be installed that day the current installation would not be acceptable.

I have no idea if what the BG engineer said is a genuine risk or a technical point about the latest regulations. But they do love to worry people with stickers of this kind.

ollski

BobQ wrote: »

One of the problems with BG is that they issue these "at risk" assessments based on whether the current installation complies with the latest regulations, in so many cases it does not. This does not mean its unsafe only that if it were to be installed that day the current installation would not be acceptable.

I have no idea if what the BG engineer said is a genuine risk or a technical point about the latest regulations. But they do love to worry people with stickers of this kind.

No that is the 'not to current standards' notification. This situation is specifically listed in the industry standard gas regs and clearly classified 'at risk', no engineer judgement involved.