Carbon Monoxide alarms..

C_Mababejive

A lot of people have these now and im just wondering what people do if yours goes off?

Have you still got the instructions for your alarm to act as a guide?

If you ring the Gas Emergency service they are simply a make safe operation and will just cut your gas off and give you a legal disconnection notice on grounds of safety. You then have to get your own Engineer in to carry out tests and check everything.

What if they come and you pay them lots of money and they find nothing?

Things like wood burners and open fires are also a risk for CO. Maybe your immediate neighbour has one and its leaking fumes into your house?

So who would you call if it went off ? The fire brigade?

MattMattMattUK

C_Mababejive said:

A lot of people have these now and im just wondering what people do if yours goes off?

Have you still got the instructions for your alarm to act as a guide?

If you ring the Gas Emergency service they are simply a make safe operation and will just cut your gas off and give you a legal disconnection notice on grounds of safety. You then have to get your own Engineer in to carry out tests and check everything.

What if they come and you pay them lots of money and they find nothing?

Things like wood burners and open fires are also a risk for CO. Maybe your immediate neighbour has one and its leaking fumes into your house?

So who would you call if it went off ? The fire brigade?

I would not call the emergency services because it is not an emergency in that sense. I would get everyone else out of the property, open all windows and doors, turn off and then isolate all gas appliances and then call my gas engineer to visit and fix/replace whichever appliance was trying to suffocate me. 

C_Mababejive

MattMattMattUK said:

C_Mababejive said:

A lot of people have these now and im just wondering what people do if yours goes off?

Have you still got the instructions for your alarm to act as a guide?

If you ring the Gas Emergency service they are simply a make safe operation and will just cut your gas off and give you a legal disconnection notice on grounds of safety. You then have to get your own Engineer in to carry out tests and check everything.

What if they come and you pay them lots of money and they find nothing?

Things like wood burners and open fires are also a risk for CO. Maybe your immediate neighbour has one and its leaking fumes into your house?

So who would you call if it went off ? The fire brigade?

I would not call the emergency services because it is not an emergency in that sense. I would get everyone else out of the property, open all windows and doors, turn off and then isolate all gas appliances and then call my gas engineer to visit and fix/replace whichever appliance was trying to suffocate me. 

That sounds like a good strategy. 

If you were not detached and lived in a semi,terrace or apartment block, what about your neighbours?

MattMattMattUK

C_Mababejive said:

MattMattMattUK said:

C_Mababejive said:

A lot of people have these now and im just wondering what people do if yours goes off?

Have you still got the instructions for your alarm to act as a guide?

If you ring the Gas Emergency service they are simply a make safe operation and will just cut your gas off and give you a legal disconnection notice on grounds of safety. You then have to get your own Engineer in to carry out tests and check everything.

What if they come and you pay them lots of money and they find nothing?

Things like wood burners and open fires are also a risk for CO. Maybe your immediate neighbour has one and its leaking fumes into your house?

So who would you call if it went off ? The fire brigade?

I would not call the emergency services because it is not an emergency in that sense. I would get everyone else out of the property, open all windows and doors, turn off and then isolate all gas appliances and then call my gas engineer to visit and fix/replace whichever appliance was trying to suffocate me. 

That sounds like a good strategy. 

If you were not detached and lived in a semi,terrace or apartment block, what about your neighbours?

Nothing for them to worry about really, within minutes there would be no CO being produced and it would all be ventilated, it is not like a gas leak where there is danger of combustion. 

FreeBear

MattMattMattUK said:

C_Mababejive said:

A lot of people have these now and im just wondering what people do if yours goes off?

Have you still got the instructions for your alarm to act as a guide?

If you ring the Gas Emergency service they are simply a make safe operation and will just cut your gas off and give you a legal disconnection notice on grounds of safety. You then have to get your own Engineer in to carry out tests and check everything.

What if they come and you pay them lots of money and they find nothing?

Things like wood burners and open fires are also a risk for CO. Maybe your immediate neighbour has one and its leaking fumes into your house?

So who would you call if it went off ? The fire brigade?

I would not call the emergency services because it is not an emergency in that sense. I would get everyone else out of the property, open all windows and doors, turn off and then isolate all gas appliances and then call my gas engineer to visit and fix/replace whichever appliance was trying to suffocate me. 

Not sure I'd open all the doors & windows - I have two CO alarms, so it would depend on which one is going off. In the lounge where the stove is located, open a couple of windows. the alarm next to the boiler, yes, turn off the gas and open a door & window to ventilate the space.

In the meantime, get everyone outside and get them to take a walk round the block. Only if they were unresponsive or showing signs of distress would I call the emergency services (ambulance).

QrizB

I have a combined smoke and CO alarm in the kitchen (the only room with any combustion appliances). The smoke alarm goes off whenever Mrs QrizB gets too enthusiastic with the stir-fry bit I don't think the CO alarm has ever gone off!

Scot_39

Its not so much an emergency or panic alert as a dissist from use and rectify.

It is far more likely its a direct leak of what should be flue gasses or a badly balanced open fire / chimney / room ventillation arrangement - not adequately venting and exchanging any small accumulations (e.g. from open fires) of CO gas - in an individual property - causing the issue.


In theory CO could say leak through a badly pointed chimney stack etc - e.g. B Gas service people do occasionally check loft etc when doing fire chimney smoke test.

But I have never come across - in Scotland at least - where they are mandatory in all homes  - in any room with boilers or open carbon based 'fires' (inc cookers, hobs, wood stoves etc) or associated flues ? - a need to fit if neighbouring property has similar.

It's not a gas leak detector remember - it's a CO detector.

Simply switching off any actual combustion devices if gas based and opening windows / doors for a brief period - should allow CO levels to drop back to safe levels.

My model claims a detection threshold of 30ppm, but in theory even 10ppm long term carries some risk etc - and for instance one site says 50ppm for 30 min exposure is considered safe by HSE according to a quick google.


Obviously if coal or wood fire etc room would need to be ventillated until they also stopped burning - but again with any significant fresh air flow into affected rooms unlikely to be accumulating at truly dangerous levels.

With open fires as well as chimney / flue cleanliness - I'd also be looking explicitly at whether room ventillation adequate.

Too many think homes can be "hermetically sealed" in winter to reduce heating costs (not just rooms but wall and underfloor breath spaces by blocking ventillation bricks etc)  but with that comes all sorts of risks, obvious ones like dampness, possibly CO itself, to more obscure risks like say radon gas build up - very regional issue in UK, USA etc.

Swipe

Mine is pretty redundant now as I have storage heaters and I no longer use the stove since the price of smokeless coal doubled

jefaz07

C_Mababejive said:

A lot of people have these now and im just wondering what people do if yours goes off?

Have you still got the instructions for your alarm to act as a guide?

If you ring the Gas Emergency service they are simply a make safe operation and will just cut your gas off and give you a legal disconnection notice on grounds of safety. You then have to get your own Engineer in to carry out tests and check everything.

What if they come and you pay them lots of money and they find nothing?

Things like wood burners and open fires are also a risk for CO. Maybe your immediate neighbour has one and its leaking fumes into your house?

So who would you call if it went off ? The fire brigade?

I’d call the Gas Emergency service. All this turn your own appliance advice is all well and good until it’s not coming from your property. Which happens a lot more than you’d think. 

The gas emergency service won’t cut your gas off either, depending on what’s wrong the switch on your boiler may just be turned off. 

C_Mababejive

jefaz07 said:

C_Mababejive said:

A lot of people have these now and im just wondering what people do if yours goes off?

Have you still got the instructions for your alarm to act as a guide?

If you ring the Gas Emergency service they are simply a make safe operation and will just cut your gas off and give you a legal disconnection notice on grounds of safety. You then have to get your own Engineer in to carry out tests and check everything.

What if they come and you pay them lots of money and they find nothing?

Things like wood burners and open fires are also a risk for CO. Maybe your immediate neighbour has one and its leaking fumes into your house?

So who would you call if it went off ? The fire brigade?

I’d call the Gas Emergency service. All this turn your own appliance advice is all well and good until it’s not coming from your property. Which happens a lot more than you’d think. 

The gas emergency service won’t cut your gas off either, depending on what’s wrong the switch on your boiler may just be turned off. 

But its part of the gas emergency procedures. If a Carbon Monoxide alarm is reported as going of then their only job is to make it safe by cutting the gas off and give a warning notice. That leaves you with no gas and having to find someone to come and check it. Not ideal when its freezing cold. 

Eldi_Dos

C_Mababejive said:

jefaz07 said:

C_Mababejive said:

A lot of people have these now and im just wondering what people do if yours goes off?

Have you still got the instructions for your alarm to act as a guide?

If you ring the Gas Emergency service they are simply a make safe operation and will just cut your gas off and give you a legal disconnection notice on grounds of safety. You then have to get your own Engineer in to carry out tests and check everything.

What if they come and you pay them lots of money and they find nothing?

Things like wood burners and open fires are also a risk for CO. Maybe your immediate neighbour has one and its leaking fumes into your house?

So who would you call if it went off ? The fire brigade?

I’d call the Gas Emergency service. All this turn your own appliance advice is all well and good until it’s not coming from your property. Which happens a lot more than you’d think. 

The gas emergency service won’t cut your gas off either, depending on what’s wrong the switch on your boiler may just be turned off. 

But its part of the gas emergency procedures. If a Carbon Monoxide alarm is reported as going of then their only job is to make it safe by cutting the gas off and give a warning notice. That leaves you with no gas and having to find someone to come and check it. Not ideal when its freezing cold. 

A morgue is kept between 4 and 6 C, so I suppose you pays your money and take your choice.

When did you last have your boiler serviced and did the engineer check your alarm?