Gas Safety Week, 11th-17th September 2023. Celebrating its thirteenth year, this pan-industry event sees everyone coming together for one common goal – keeping the nation gas safe. 

For those living with a smell disorder how to stay safe with gas is important all year round, Gas Safety Week shines a light on the importance of maintaining and servicing gas appliances. 

Fifth Sense and Cadent encourage you to take the following steps- 

1. Ensure all gas appliances and boiler servicing is carried out by the professionals – always call a Gas Safe registered engineer and get it done properly. Never risk doing this yourself if you are not Gas Safe registered, it’s a very specialist job.  Jonathan Samuel, Managing Director of Gas Safe Register, comments: “Our advice is always to use a Gas Safe registered engineer for any gas work on your appliances. Landlords have a legal duty to ensure gas appliances are safety checked annually, and this is the advice we extend to anyone with a gas appliance.”
2. Book an annual boiler service with a Gas Safe registered engineer (and always ask to see their IDwhen they arrive at your home) to ensure it stays in good working order.  Importantly, an engineer will also check all gas appliances in your property including a visual inspection of your gas pipework and a tightness test to confirm there aren’t any gas leaks.  You will need proof of your boiler serviced if you sell your home and, of course, for landlords this is a responsibility, as they must provide an annual Landlord Gas Safety Record.
3. There are some minor boiler issues you can troubleshoot yourself. For example, in winter frozen boiler condensate pipes are very common and can be thawed with water – follow our boiler troubleshooting guide.  Other common faults include low gas pressure, the boiler switching itself off, and cold water and should always be looked at by a Gas Safe registered engineer.  For leaks or a pilot light replacement you should alwayscontact a Gas Safe registered engineer to fix the issue. 
4. Make sure you leave vents unblocked as these are there to help your gas appliance work safely and efficiently.
5. Recognise the warning signs of an unsafe appliance so you can act, for example a lazy yellow flame instead of crisp blue flame; error messages; unexpected noises from your boiler; or dark and sooty stains around your gas appliance could mean it is unsafe and releasing carbon monoxide (CO).  Know the symptoms of CO poisoning.

For more information go to www.cadentgas.com/servicing

At Fifth Sense we also encourage you to do the following to support your safety in respect of gas, fire, and carbon monoxide.

• Sign up to the Priority Services Register (PSR) at thepsr.co.uk. This is a free service to support those who may be vulnerable to the potential dangers of gas. 
• Get natural gas, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors fitted.
• If you do have a gas detector and it sounds, call the National Gas Emergency number for free on 0800 111 999 immediately.
• There is also a section on the Fifth Sense website which talks about safety in its various forms. fifthsense.org.uk/safety