One of Your Colleagues Has Saved My Life!

[VVIC]

I'm pretty sure my life has been saved (literally) thanks to gas safety regulations. And I need some advice please.

I've just had a gas safety inspection. The engineer was undoubtedly the most professional engineer I've ever come across. He did far more than any of the previous engineers.

It was a shock when he told me there was a substantial leak in the gas. After inspecting the gentleman asked me to come look at the gas fire. As I squatted down he said "watch this." He reached into the wall cavity and pulled out the entire pipe which extended from the wall to the fire. He asked 'what do you see?' All I saw was lots of tape. That's what I told him. 'Exactly,' he said with a searching look of incredulity. 'Who did this installation?' he asked. I told him it was the same company who had come for the past four years.

The engineer said he had never seen anything like this before. The pipe running from the mains connecting to the fire had been connected with Sellotape! There was not even threading on the pipes as one would imagine there might be to screw or bolt the pipes together. The tape had become brittle and loose around the pipe, thus causing the gas to escape.

For the past three years I have been becoming increasingly ill. I have been to my GP so many times I can't even begin to count. I have been subjected to a litany of exams, tests, and medications. The nausea was constant with vomiting sometimes lasting for days. But when I went away it got better. We couldn't figure out what or why this was happening.

You have no idea how grateful I am to the engineer who came to my home. He was a mature gentleman, unlike the extremely young people who came before, who were always in a hurry and never once to my recollection did gas leak tests, or inspections of my cooker, etc. I suppose the simple moral to this is how valuable your profession is and how essential it is to take pride in following the regulations in checking each installation thoroughly.

Over the past four weeks my medication types have reduced from nine to three - (just a blood pressure, a cholesterol, and an antibiotic tablet for a throat infection, which the GP says may also be connected to the gas!)

Has anyone here ever heard of anything like this? I'm quite angry and I've spent the past couple of years finding myself in a stupor in the mornings, fighting the most outrageous headaches and nausea, and having lost the enjoyment out of life for the past two years. I'm not feeling sorry for myself - I'm just jolly glad it's over with!

It's amazing that the past three years worth of inspections were done without the engineers ever testing the gas and actually overlooking the Sellotape which was blatantly obvious once you're down on your knees in front of the fire. The level of apathy and complacency beggars belief!

apologies for my using the forum to get this off my chest but I thought you might find it of interest.

 

[gasmarc]

Well that is great news but the firm should have been reported RIDDOR ,which means reporting the incident so the firm dont end up doing the same to someone else

 

[REDSAW]

many thanks for your input.!.

spread the word to others that a good proper gas inspection once a year by a qualified professional is not just about another expense, its about detecting defects and protecting life.

and we will call it quits.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

glad to hear your news only a shame it took so long to find out. the previous company are nothing short of criminal to leave you with all these problems healthwise.

 

[sparra1100]

glad your ok,your very lucky to get away with your life ,they should be struck off,did ye get some carbon monoxide poisoning aswell because of the sickness dont no how anyone can not do a tightness test when workin on gas, its a basic must do test before you start and before you leave

 

[VVIC]

Thank you everyone for your kind input! Gasmart, I've been agonising over this very issue! I'm a priest and since this occurrence I've been torn over the possibility that there may be other people, especially elderly ones who are possibly being exposed to the same thing I was and to be honest with all of you, the greatest agony I'm suffering is my wondering whether anyone has already died and the coroner simply wrote the death off as natural causes.

Sparra - as you know carbon monoxide is from burnt gas so I gather the results would have been different and most certainly the result would have registered if the coroner received a body.

Interestingly, this company is actually quite reputable. Sadly, and I mean no malice whatsoever, but the previous 4 years the people who came were quite young and clearly a bit 'stressed' over the loads of work they had.

The gentleman who came this time was methodical, went straight to the gas meter and began his process. I commented on the fact that I had never seen previously any of the engineers doing what he was doing and asked whether there were new procedures. He said no, that the procedure was standard and should always be done the same way.

I think it was a matter of this gentleman not only being proud of what he did, but professional and determined to carry out essential work in the interest of my and others safety. The young lads were perhaps being pushed. I was told by the one from last year that they were paid by the job so perhaps they had a race to see how many inspections they could carry out.

I felt rather sorry for the engineer as he told me he had to make some phone calls. I told him he was welcome to use my phone but he declined saying he felt better speaking outside. I gather he was reporting what he found to his manager but I also believe he was protecting his company's reputation.

I have a twang of guilt because while he was out I grabbed my camera and took quite a few high-resolution photos of the pipe, the tape, and the absence of threading on the pipe. I never mentioned to him.

Clearly none of this was his fault. But I am concerned that his bosses, should I report this, will find a way to blame someone - perhaps him. He is totally blameless though.

My bishop has encouraged me to seek legal counsel. But I've sat on this since it happened. To be honest though, the longer I sit on it the angrier I become, especially when I think about the possibility of others being in a similar situation. In that case my mind gets carried away and I think of the company being forced to make a comprehensive inspection of virtually every installation they've either installed or checked over the past four years. And of course then some poor soul would indeed become the scapegoat!

I'm not sure what to do and I'm not certain whether I have any permanent injury. I don't have words to say how much better I feel. I honestly felt my life was coming to an end. It was quite saddening at times. I'd find myself in a stupor in the mornings, dizzy, nauseous and with a pounding headache. And my muscles felt like rubber. It was like this every single day. But when I went away, over a few days I'd feel better. I always thought it was because I had so much work to do that I couldn't think about my own problems. But the truth was that I was free of being poisoned.

Again, thank all of you very much indeed. If you have any experience with a situation such as this I'd love to hear. Or if you have any knowledge of how this exposure may affect me in the future I'd like to hear that as well.

But most of all, thank you all for being professional and proud of the work you do!

Fr B+

 

[leelister6]

This should definitely be reported to Gas safe! Make a complaint about gas work

The first thing a gas engineer should do before starting ANY gas related work is a tightness test to check for leaks. The gas fire should always be removed to check the catchment space and a visual check performed on the flue and pipework so I'm shocked that this wasn't discovered! Do you know if a flue flow test was ever performed (smoke bomb in the chimney)? I'm guessing not!! No matter how much pressure the "engineers" were under, there is NO excuse for not doing a tightness test - It literally takes 5 minutes. I have found a bit of info on Natural gas poisoning Gas Leak : Slow Natural Gas Leak can cause Poisoning! and I hope this will be of some help. One last thing - could you upload the pics you took as it would be interesting to see how bad the situation actually was!

 

[mfgs]

If it is just a gas fire service there is no need for a tightness test if it can be isolated at the appliance. It isn't a necesity for all gas work.

Glad this all got sorted, I would be interested in seeing the pictures if you wouldnt mind putting them up? Could you not smell gas in the property at all? I certainly think you should follow this up and make a complaint as leaving this as described is not on and should not have happened. The people who did it should not be working in the gas industry.

 

[leelister6]

If it is just a gas fire service there is no need for a tightness test if it can be isolated at the appliance. It isn't a necesity for all gas work.

Don't you think it's good practice though? For instance, you do a service on a gas fire and there is an undetected gas leak elsewhere on the premises. You go home and turn the news on the next day and see pictures of what's left of the house where you've just done a service. Fair enough, you've specified on the certificate that a tightness test was NOT carried out so you've probably covered your arse but I know I would blame myself if something like this happened, just for the sake of 5 minutes of my time! If a non permissible drop is discovered, the householder has the option to get it traced and repaired by you or have the problem passed onto the gas emergency service.

 

[mfgs]

I think there is an arguement for doing one and for not doing one, the point I was making is the guys before didnt HAVE to do one if it was just a service which you were saying they did. There have been many discussions on it before and best not to hijack this thread with it.

 

[leelister6]

Fair enough. It's just that this type of situation emphasises the need for some changes IMO. The O.P. is lucky he wasn't summoned to the bosses office earlier than anticipated!!

 

[sparra1100]

Sparra - as you know carbon monoxide is from burnt gas so I gather the results would have been different and most certainly the result would have registered if the coroner received a body.

Interestingly, this company is actually quite reputable. Sadly, and I mean no malice whatsoever, but the previous 4 years the people who came were quite young and clearly a bit 'stressed' over the loads of work they had.





I have a twang of guilt because while he was out I grabbed my camera and took quite a few high-resolution photos of the pipe, the tape, and the absence of threading on the pipe. I never mentioned to him.




I'm not sure what to do and I'm not certain whether I have any permanent injury. I don't have words to say how much better I feel. I honestly felt my life was coming to an end. It was quite saddening at times. I'd find myself in a stupor in the mornings, dizzy, nauseous and with a pounding headache. And my muscles felt like rubber. It was like this every single day. But when I went away, over a few days I'd feel better. I always thought it was because I had so much work to do that I couldn't think about my own problems. But the truth was that I was free of being poisoned.

Again, thank all of you very much indeed. If you have any experience with a situation such as this I'd love to hear. Or if you have any knowledge of how this exposure may affect me in the future I'd like to hear that as well.


Fr B+

the paragraph above is classic carbon monoxide poisoning signs hence why i asked you vic never looked at the affects of gas poisoning cos am working with it everyday i would have felt the affects of it by now

its best practice to do a tightness test regardless of wether your just doing a service, as how do you no what was the fault before you started you could fix the fire and there could be a leak somewere else which you not aloud to leave therefore you must do one before and as you leave i always do is it worth the risk for the sake of 4 minutes

 

[stani]

I think the fact this person is a Priest and has reported it to the Bishop would make me think this is in fact a landlords gas safety inspection. A Tightness test is therefore required.

 

[REDSAW]

I think the fact this person is a Priest and has reported it to the Bishop would make me think this is in fact a landlords gas safety inspection. A Tightness test is therefore required.

quite right in your thinking,
normally under the diocese all properties come with the job but owned by them as landlord or whatever term they use.

what i would like to know father, what if you did not do your job right and you never new what your mistakes cost to others?.

however, the recent gas guy should have riddor reported this fault anyway!.

 

[fuzzy]

good input, thanks

we get slated enough times, we need some positive to balance it out

 

[Blackcatgas]

Can Ch4 gas poison you? I know old town gas could.

 

[fuzzy]

is that methane? if so no

 

[Blackcatgas]

is that methane? if so no

Its Ch4 out of the meter isnt it? Ch somthing or other.

 

[secret squirrel]

I've read all these posts reasonably carefully and I'd like to play devils advocate, so, just bare with me for a moment.

Time constraints are a real issue and if you trust the people you work with, some would assume (well aware what assume really means) that every previous engineer should and would have done the job their job properly. The installer would have completed the installation to a correct level of competency and signed off the work correctly.

A landlord certificate is only confirmation that at the time the appliance was working correctly and within normal levels.

So, as devils advocate some if not all can be understood.

However, cellotape connecting the fire should send alarm bells ringing very loudly and action should be taken immediately, obviously, any short cuts engineers take having seen this should now be kicked out and the whole installation checked. I don't think theres any arguments there.

BUT:

A question for you is this: Gas safe and any other authorities get involved (and I think they should) who would be looked at, surely, it will only be the last person signing the work off? not the previous 3 engineers because they will say "It was ok when I checked it"..........

 

[leelister6]

A question for you is this: Gas safe and any other authorities get involved (and I think they should) who would be looked at, surely, it will only be the last person signing the work off? not the previous 3 engineers because they will say "It was ok when I checked it"..........

Surely, when the fire was removed, the sellotape would have been spotted, or the pipe would have come away with the fire! And if a tightness test was a mandatory part of a service the problem would more than likely been highlighted.