 |
< BACK
Grieving family warns of gas danger
The family of a teenager who died from carbon monoxide poisoning five years ago today say they still do not think enough is being done to stop the silent killer.
Keith Reynolds, 17, and his flatmate Michael Frosdick, 19, died in 2003 when their faulty gas boiler leaked fumes into their rented flat in Kitchener Road, Great Yarmouth. Landlord Stanley Rogers and handyman Barry Stone admitted manslaughter and were sentenced to five and three years respectively in prison in 2004.
Keith's father, David Flack, and the teenager's brother, Mark Reynolds, of Havelock Road, Yarmouth, said they were still grieving at the loss.
They said it had been harder to come to terms with the tragedy because they knew so many people were still at risk of being poisoned by carbon monoxide.
Mr Flack, a 47-year-old father of three, said: “I think councils - if it's council property - should check more regularly, at least every six months, that people's gas appliances are safe.
“I'm still so angry - someone took my son's life. I just don't think gas is safe any more.”
The family still visits the former Caister High School pupil's grave every week at Caister Church.
Mark, 21, who previously worked as a self-employed mechanic, said he missed his brother so much. “We were so close” he added.
Carbon monoxide (CO) fumes are often referred to as the silent killer because people do not notice them. They have no smell, you cannot taste them and they can kill within hours. People who have gas appliances in their homes are advised to buy detectors that draw a leak to their attention.
The Health and Safety Executive's chief executive, Geoffrey Podger, said: “It is extremely important that we alert the public. Our advice to home-owners and landlords is to be vigilant and take action now to protect yourselves and your tenants. Landlords are required by law to have their tenants' gas appliances and flues maintained and annual safety checks carried out.
“Simple precautions, such as regularly servicing and maintaining gas appliances through a CORGI-registered installer and using audible carbon monoxide detectors, could play a key role in saving lives.”
Statistics compiled by the HSE show that 45pc of people still do not know of the dangers associated with faulty gas appliances.
Stephanie Trotter, president and director of the charity, CO-Gas Safety, said she was angry that more had not been done to prevent further tragedies.
She said: “Deaths from carbon monoxide are all so preventable. I would love to say that things have changed since 2003 but they haven't, and this is scandalous; 45pc of people don't even know what CO is. How can people protect themselves from something when they don't even know this invisible killer exists?
“There is almost no money being spent on raising awareness of the dangers of CO and the other toxins in fuel. Why isn't there a properly- funded body whose sole interests are those of victims, and to assist victims and their families?”
Sent: 18/03/2008
Email us direct at: repairs@londonheatingservices.co.uk
|
|
|
|
|
||