DJ Tony Blackburn: UK grandparents putting over 12 million grandchildren at risk by overestimating gas-safety savviness

National World - LocalTV

87% of grandparents in the UK feel more obliged to ensure their homes are a safe environment, now that they have grandchildren to care for. But, fewer than a fifth can correctly identify all seven warning signs that indicate gas appliances in the home could be faulty or unsafe, according to the research.

Transcript

00:00 A lot of grandparents are looking after children now. I'm a grandfather and I've got two grandkids

00:10 and it's really important to be aware that if you've got a gas boiler that that gas boiler's

00:14 safe because you bring the children into the house you don't want to have any problems with it. So

00:20 we're not trying to scare anybody it's just a very simple message it's important to have your gas

00:25 boiler serviced every year if you possibly can. I always have mine done in September you know

00:30 before the winter and it's a peace of mind thing. Many grandparents play a vital role in the care

00:35 of their grandchildren but many are unaware they could be unwittingly putting them at risk of gas

00:40 related incidents in their home. That's according to Rob Denman, head of professional and field

00:44 services at Gas Safe Register which is now urging grandparents and families more widely to get

00:49 clued up on the signs and symptoms of unsafe gas. And I know that money's very tight at the moment

00:55 but that little bit of money getting an expert out is really worth it it really is worth it because

01:01 it's the most important thing in the house the gas boiler one of those important things so make

01:05 sure it's safe. You said there's a good line saying it's the most important thing in the house

01:09 it's certainly the thing that you notice first when it's gone wrong. Well absolutely and it

01:14 normally breaks down if it's going to on Christmas when you've got all the relations around. I don't

01:18 know if you've had that experience I have. And go wrong they just might. Research found that of the

01:23 22.6 million boilers in the UK more than half a million will break down on us each year leaving

01:29 us high and dry in our times of need. But the worst of not being clued up about your gas appliances

01:35 isn't simply having to suffer through a cold shower or foot a pricey boiler repair bill.

01:40 Unsafe gas appliances can put you at risk of CO poisoning, gas leaks, fires and explosions.

01:46 If you cook on one of those hubs if you've got a nice blue flame coming up that's good. If you've

01:51 got a bit of yellow looking up and it needs looking at. And also listen to your boiler as well.

01:57 It's quite often more interesting than listening to the radio. And so you listen to the boiler as

02:03 long as the boiler sounds all right then normally that's a good sign. And if you feel a bit sick

02:09 you know if you feel a bit sick and you're not feeling well that could be that you've got a gas

02:13 leak. So it could be carbon monoxide which is dangerous. So as soon as you see that make sure

02:19 you call somebody. It's one of those things it sort of sits in the back of our mind we're not

02:23 thinking about it all the time. This research sort of unveils a bit of a gap between people who are

02:28 worried about being gas safe but also people didn't know a lot of the warning signs. Why do

02:33 you think there is a bit of a gap there? I don't know I think we just take things for granted. We

02:37 you know we're in an area where you get into a car and most of the time it works but now and then

02:43 if something goes wrong it's like with a gas boiler it's the same sort of thing. I mean normally it

02:48 comes on in the morning and then it eats and it does its job. Everything's fine. We take it for

02:53 granted. We take everything for granted. And rather like my wife she takes me for granted.

02:58 You know but so I need loving now and then you know we all do.

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