RoSPA Press Office : Press Release
November 14 , 2005
FAMILIES RELIVE PERSONAL TRAGEDIES TO BEAT SILENT KILLER
Five hard-hitting films aimed at beating Britain’s “silent killer” carbon monoxide, which claims 20 lives a year, are being launched today by RoSPA and CORGI.
People who have lost relatives, or who have been poisoned themselves by the deadly gas, feature in heartbreaking reconstructions of incidents caused by faulty or badly-serviced gas appliances and systems.
They agreed to take part in a joint television campaign by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the Council for Registered Gas Installers in the hope that similar tragedies can be prevented in future.
Some of the films, made by Portfolio Creative and Production Ltd*, will be previewed at RoSPA’s National Home Safety Congress at the Renaissance Solihull Hotel today, attended by Gerry Sutcliffe MP, Minister for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs.
They will be used in a specially-targeted four-week campaign on a variety of television channels in January and February to remind people of the need to have their gas appliances serviced annually by a CORGI-registered installer.
Carbon monoxide is known as the silent killer because you can’t see it, hear it, smell it or taste it. With an extremely cold winter forecast, there are fears of more deaths resulting from poorly maintained heating systems.
The short films feature: a mother whose 10-year-old boy was poisoned in his sleep; the father of one of two teenagers who died in a rented flat; the mother of a student who died in a rented house; and two families who narrowly survived CO poisoning.
Sarah Colles, RoSPA Home Safety Adviser, said: “These people have bravely agreed to take part in these films because they do not want to see others suffer a similar fate. As well as 20 deaths, there are around 200 other serious incidents each year.”
Mike Thompson, CORGI Chief Executive, said: “Jobs carried out by illegal gas workers, i.e. those who are not registered with CORGI, have significant chances of having safety defects. To protect their families from carbon monoxide poisoning, consumers should have their gas appliances checked annually by a CORGI-registered installer.”
Carbon monoxide can be given off by all fossil fuels. People need to look out for: boiler pilot light flames burning orange, instead of blue; sooty stains on or near appliances; excessive condensation in the room; coal or wood fires that burn slowly or go out; families suffering prolonged flu-like symptoms.
RoSPA’s conference Reducing Risks and Injuries at Home is sponsored by Kid Rapt Ltd and attracts home safety professionals from throughout the UK. See: www.rospa.com/home .
*The films are part of a communications initiative devised by Manchester-based Portfolio Creative and Production Ltd following their award-winning campaigns for HSE on workplace safety.
|
RoSPA is a registered charity: Registered Charity No: 207823 Patron: Her Majesty the Queen RoSPA Head Office: Edgbaston Park, 353 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7ST, UK |
 |