MP Mark Spencer has joined a campaign to make carbon monoxide alarms compulsory to prevent accidental poisoning.
The ‘Make Carbon Monoxide Alarms Law’ campaign says that alarms should be compulsory on all devices when they are installed to cut the risk of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says that 40 people die every year from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning with a further 4000 people treated at A and E with CO symptoms which can lead to brain damage and strokes.
As part of the campaign an event was held at the House of Commons yesterday to see a film produced by the Katie Haines Memorial Trust which was set up by the family of 31-year-old Katie who drowned in the bath in 2010 due to an overflow of the deadly gas from a faulty boiler.
Mark Spencer. who was at the event, said: “It is so important for us to recognise the potential dangers of carbon monoxide and the death of Katie in 2010 really brings home how.
The Silent Killer
Carbon monoxide is produced by the incomplete combustion of any carbon-burning fuel including:
- Gas
- Solid fuel (coal, wood)
- Petrol
- Oil
- Parrafin
It is known as the silent killer because it is odourless, tasteless and colourless but very toxic.
In Katies case it proved fatal because it reduces the amount of oxygen carried in the blood and can cause serious neurological damage if there is prolonged exposure
“I fully support the mandatory inclusion of CO alarms whenever an appliance is fitted where there may be a risk.”
Whereas 84% of homes in the UK have smoke alarms only 15% have CO alarms, according to figures from the Council for Gas Detection and Environmental Monitoring.
Gordon Samuel, the father of Katie Haines and chair of the charity said: “Katie was a journalist and if this had happened to her she would have moved heaven and earth to raise awareness.”
“We won’t rest until everyone in the UK understands the danger of CO, and takes steps to ensure they don’t fall victim to it.
Scotland and Northern Ireland have already changed the law so the campaign aims to pressurise the government into following suit and changing the law.
