Engineer Hero Stories
How do Gas Safe registered engineers keep the public safe?
John's story
John Mickiewicz, a gas engineer from Oldham, helped a child understand how he helps families stay ‘gas safe’ at home:
“The daughter of an existing customer was learning about carbon monoxide (CO) at school, and came home and asked her parents how they were sure that their gas appliance were safe from leaking CO. They explained that I look after their gas appliance through annual gas safety checks, but she still didn’t fully understand so I visited the home to explain exactly what you look out for and what needs to be done to make sure their home stays gas safe. I also installed two CO alarms and explained how these worked, and what she needed to do if they went off. She has since said that she much safer in her home knowing more about how gas safety works.”
Nathan's Story
Nathan Evans, a Melin gas engineer from Monmouthshire, stopped a carbon monoxide leak from a faulty grill on a cooker:
"I was in the process of the annual gas service appointment at a customer’s home when I spotted that the grill on her cooker was faulty and leaking carbon monoxide. Luckily the customer and her partner rarely used the grill, but mentioned that occasionally the carbon monoxide sensor went off when they grilled bacon. I checked the grill and immediately condemned the cooker. Thankfully the customer kept to her appointment as any delay in letting us carry out the annual gas service could have had serious consequences.”
Melin Homes adds: “We hope this highlights the importance of keeping gas service appointments. This is a stark reminder of the importance of gas safety checks and our customer expressed how grateful she is to Nathan and our team.”
Nick's story
Nick Gurney, a Swale Heating engineer from Kent, explains how he saved a family from a botched DIY gas job:
“I recently went to a flat in Kent where the whole family could have been killed by the botched DIY job on their boiler flue. Condensation was dripping from the flue, and so someone had put mastic (a type of resin) around the joint. Unfortunately, the flue seal itself had perished and that meant carbon monoxide, or CO for short, could have leaked into the flat whenever the boiler was on.”
John's story
John Allen from John Allen Plumbing and Heating, Derbyshire, helped an elderly resident in a neighbouring property to where he was carrying out a boiler installation:
“I was working at a house fitting a boiler last year when I could smell carbon coming from the adjacent property. I looked over the fence and was greeted by the flue from a 40-year-old Concorde boiler surrounded by signs of combustion all around it. When I went to speak to the next-door neighbour, I was met by an elderly lady on a breathing apparatus who was pleased that I had explained the reason why I wanted to enter her property. Her boiler was in an out building attached on to the house, and just below the bathroom. I used my gas analyser from a distance and quickly removed it as it was picking up 1,200 ppm of CO. That amount of CO seeping under the floor in the bathroom is very dangerous, so I explained the situation to the homeowner and capped off the gas supply to the boiler. The neighbour then had a new boiler fitted under a grant scheme.”