Gas Safety Week: Fighting for a Gas Safe Nation
We are proud to be supporting Gas Safety Week 2019, taking place 16th – 22nd September.
Gas Safety Week is an annual safety week to raise awareness of gas safety and the importance of taking care of your gas appliances. It is coordinated by Gas Safe Register, the official list of gas engineers who are legally allowed to work on gas.
Badly fitted and poorly serviced gas appliances can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. CO is a highly poisonous gas that can kill quickly and without warning, as you cannot see it, taste it or smell it.
The law places duties on the responsible person (employer) at any place of work to ensure that any gas appliances, installation pipework and flues under their control, is maintained in a safe condition to prevent the risk of injury. If this applies to you, you are duty-bound to do the following:
- Gas equipment must be installed, commissioned and maintained by an appropriately qualified Gas Safe registered engineer. You may be required to provide evidence of this during an inspection by the Environmental Health Officer (EHO), so ask your Gas Safe registered engineer to provide you with the relevant paperwork. If the EHO does not receive evidence of ongoing maintenance or if there are any safety concerns, they may serve a formal notice stating what actions must be taken to comply with the law.
- Check the engineer is Gas Safe registered and appropriately qualified for the type of work you need doing. Not all Gas Safe registered engineers can work on all types of gas or appliances. The onus is on you to ensure that the engineer is qualified to work on your gas supply, as well as the type of gas appliances you have. For example:
Examples of qualified engineers:
In a fish and chip shop the engineer must be qualified to work on:
- Natural gas/LPG
- Catering
- Fish and chip range
In a mobile catering vehicle the engineer must be qualified to work on:
- LPG
- Commercial mobile catering
- [the appliance type] – for example, commercial catering range cookers LPG
You can find or check a Gas Safe registered engineer in your area and check their qualifications at gassaferegister.co.uk or call 0800 408 5500.