Buying a new home?

Make sure that your new home is gas safe

Homebuyers cannot always be sure when the gas appliances in their new home were last safety checked and serviced.

Ask your vendor for an annual gas safety record which shows that a Gas Safe registered engineer has checked the gas appliances.

If your vendor cannot supply an up to date annual gas safety record, you should get a Gas Safe registered engineer to check the gas appliances before you move in. This check should include the gas boiler, oven, hob and gas fires. The registered engineer should give the vendor a gas safety record which they should handover to you before you move in.

Better Gas Safe than sorry. Poorly maintained or badly fitted gas appliances can put you at risk from gas leaks, explosions, fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Would you buy a car without an MOT?

Call Samsian Ltd today on 01732 885882 for more information.

Stay safe with your BBQ

BBQ’s have been linked to several campsite deaths caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide is a highly poisonous substance which is created when fossil fuels such as gas and solid fuels like charcoal and wood fail to combust fully due to a lack of oxygen. You can’t see it, taste it or smell it but it can kill quickly with no warning. 

Samsian Ltd BBQ 

If you’re planning on using a BBQ, whether it’s a disposable type, gas or charcoal make sure you keep yourself safe and don’t put yourself at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Follow these top Gas Safe Register tips for BBQ safety:

  • Never take a smouldering or lit BBQ into a tent, caravan or cabin. Even if you have finished cooking your BBQ should remain outside as it will still give off fumes for some hours after use.
  • Never use a BBQ inside to keep you warm.
  • Never leave a lit BBQ unattended or while sleeping.
  • Only use appliances in accordance with the operating instructions.
  • Place your cooking area well away from your tent. Always ensure there is an adequate supply of fresh air where the BBQ is being used.

If you’re using gas camping equipment follow these extra tips to help you stay safe:

  • Never take a gas stove, light or heater into a tent, caravan or cabin unless it is a permanent fixture, installed and maintained correctly.
  • Check that the appliance is in good order, undamaged and that hoses are properly attached and undamaged. If in doubt get the hoses replaced or don’t use it.
  • Make sure the gas taps or cylinder valve are turned off before changing the gas cylinder. Only do it in the open air.
  • Don’t over-tighten joints on gas camping equipment.
  • When you have finished cooking, turn off the gas cylinder before you turn off the BBQ controls – this means any gas in the hose and pipework will be used up.
  • Read the manufacturer’s instructions about how to check for gas escapes from hoses or pipework, e.g. brushing leak detection solution around all joints and looking for bubbles.

For more information or advice you can call us on 01732 885882, visit the Gas Safe Register website or use their freephone number 0800 408 5500.

Take care this summer and don’t put yourself or your family at risk.

Are you buying a new home?

How do you make sure the new home you are buying is gas safe?

Homebuyers cannot always be sure when the gas appliances in their new home were last safety checked and serviced.

Boilers repaired fast

You should ask your vendor for an annual gas safety record which shows that a Gas Safe registered engineer has checked the gas appliances.

If your vendor cannot supply an up to date annual gas safety record, you should get a Gas Safe registered engineer like Samsian Ltd to check the gas appliances before you move in. This check should include the gas boiler, gas oven, gas hob and gas fires. The registered engineer will give the vendor a gas safety record which they should handover to you before you move in.

Andy servicing

Better Gas Safe than sorry. Poorly maintained or badly fitted gas appliances can put you at risk from gas leaks, explosions, fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Would you buy a car without an MOT?

Samsian-Boiler-Repair1

Call Samsian Ltd today on 01732 885882 for more information.

Preparing for your summer holiday again? Be GAS SAFE!

Gas safety on holiday – know how to be Gas Safe

Right now thousands of people are preparing for their summer holidays and the last thing on their minds is the safety of their holiday accommodation. But, poorly maintained, badly installed and faulty gas appliances can leak poisonous carbon monoxide (CO). This lethal gas could turn a summer break into a holiday from hell, warns Gas Safe Register.

 

Whether staying in a B&B, chalet, hotel, caravan or boat this summer, when it comes to gas safety, holidaymakers are more vulnerable than when at home; they simply don’t know how often gas appliances have been safety checked or serviced by the owners.

 

With 14 people dying from CO poisoning in the UK in 2008 and more than 200 suffering health problems from CO exposure, Gas Safe Register is issuing essential gas safety advice for holidaymakers.

 

“On holiday, we often let our guard down and aren’t aware of the potential dangers that we would think about at home. But, carbon monoxide is a highly poisonous gas, and with no colour, taste or smell it can kill quickly and without warning,” advised Peter Eldridge, Chief Executive of Gas Safe Register.

“We recommend that anyone holidaying in the UK or abroad follow our simple safety precautions to help make sure that they have a safe and relaxing holiday. And, knowing what signs to look out for could also protect your family and save your life.”

Gas Safe Register recommends you follow these simple tips to avoid danger on holiday:

1. Always take a battery operated audible carbon monoxide alarm on holiday and leave it in your accommodation. If you’re travelling by air, remember to remove the battery from your alarm and put it back in after the flight. When you return from your holiday, you can use the same CO alarm in your own home. Ask Samsian about this when we service your boiler next.
2. Check gas appliances in your accommodation for warning signs – lazy luminous yellow flames on the gas cooker instead of sharp blue flames, black marks or stains around the fire or water heater, pilot lights that blow out easily and too much condensation in the room.
3. Don’t mistake carbon monoxide poisoning with flu. Know all the symptoms – headache, dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, collapse, loss of consciousness.
4. If staying in a UK holiday home such as a caravan or B&B, make sure the Landlord has had a legal annual gas safety check carried out and has had gas appliances serviced regularly. You can ask the owner for an up-to-date Landlord’s gas safety certificate. Samsian can show you what this looks like if you wish.
5. If you smell gas or think there might be a gas leak: turn off the gas at the meter, extinguish naked flames, open windows and leave the area. Seek medical advice if you feel unwell. If in the UK, call the Gas Emergency freephone number 0800 111 999.

Avid traveller and industry expert, Simon Calder added:
“When people go on holiday they often take for granted that the accommodation they’re staying in is safe, especially when it’s on their own turf. I am fortunate that I spend most of my time on holiday, but when it comes to safety I never let down my guard.  As a precaution, I always pack a portable audible carbon monoxide alarm in my luggage, whether I’m staying in the UK or abroad and place it in my room.”

Read two cases of people who have been affected by carbon monoxide poisoning:

Mother-of-three Jemma Traves, is testament to the importance of being gas safe on holiday and recognising the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. During a recent caravan holiday in the UK, the Traves family woke one morning with mysterious headaches and Jemma struggled to rouse her normally lively 15-month-old baby. Jemma had heard about the tragic deaths of siblings Christianne and Robert Shepherd, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in Corfu in 2006 and as a result, Jemma took a CO tester with her on holiday, which indicated that the deadly gas was present in their holiday caravan.

Paramedic Johanna McLoughlin is strongly supportive of Gas Safe Register’s efforts to raise gas safety awareness amongst UK holidaymakers. In April last year, she attended a 999 response-call to a hotel in Newquay after they reported a guest, Fred Jackson, was found unconscious in his room. Whilst at the hotel Jo began to suffer symptoms of CO poisoning, which continued after she left. Jo raised the alarm and consequently high levels of CO were found across the hotel with further people suffering from symptoms, something that a CO alarm could have detected and potentially saved Fred Jackson’s life.

For a down-loadable fact sheet go to www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk.

Samsian can supply and fit a portable audible carbon monoxide detector in minutes when they next visit you.

Happy holidays!

Source Gas Safe Register

Calling all Primary School Teachers and Pupils aged 10-11

CO-Gas Safety poster competition

Calling all Primary School Teachers and Pupils aged 10-11!

Please help raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning!

CO-Gas Safety is an independent registered charity and is running a Schools Poster Competition for a seventh year to highlight the dangers of CO and other dangers from using fuel that burns.

There are four regions, North England, South England, Scotland & Wales with one winner coming from each region. Entry is FREE and prizes are at least £300 for each winning pupil and at least £500 for each winning school!

The winner’s presentation will take place at the House of Lords, January 2015.

Competition closes 31st July 2014

For more information please visit www.co-gassafety.co.uk

Data courtesy of Gas Safe Register November 2013

Winter gas safety tips

GAS SAFETY AT WINTER

With the cold weather setting in many households will be relying on gas boilers and gas fires to keep their family warm this winter. This increased usage can put pressure on gas appliances and could lead to them breaking down when they are needed the most.
It’s vital that everyone has their gas appliances regularly serviced and safety checked every year to prepare them for the cold winter months.

Stay safe and don’t be left out in the cold this winter. Make sure you know what to do if your central heating fails you.

All of your gas appliances, including your gas boiler, gas cooker and gas fire should be safety checked once a year and serviced regularly according to manufacturer’s instructions. If you do not have your gas appliances regularly serviced and safety checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer you could be putting you and your family at risk and in possible danger of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Call Samsian Ltd on 01732 885882 to book your gas appliance service today.