Gas companies must give free electronic carbon monoxide alarms to all households to halt thousands of annual poisonings, the Local Government Association (LGA) has demanded.
It says there is a ‘moral imperative’ for utility giants to act as the winter months draw in and householders use their central heating more.
Four thousand people go to accident and emergency, 200 are hospitalised and 40 die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning and the LGA fears these figures are only the tip of the iceberg.
It is especially concerned about pregnant women as unborn and newly-born babies are particularly vulnerable to the colourless, odourless and tasteless gas, which can leak from faulty flues and boilers.
The LGA says a simple electronic device costing about £15 could mean a ‘colossal cut’ in the number of deaths and hospitalisations from carbon monoxide poisoning.
While carbon monoxide alarms must be installed in any property where a solid fuel heating system – such as a wood burning stove – is installed, there is currently no requirement for other properties in England and Wales to have them.
In Scotland all new-build properties must be fitted with CO alarms. Houses, hotels, guest houses and care homes there also must have an alarm installed at the same time as a new boiler or gas appliance.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, chair of the LGA's community wellbeing board said: ‘As the cold weather bites this Christmas, more and more households will be firing up their gas central heating.
‘With that comes an increased risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Pregnant women, unborn children and babies are particularly vulnerable to this silent killer.
‘Yet for the price of an electronic carbon monoxide detector that costs about £15 – and considerably cheaper bought in bulk – the gas giants could be potentially saving scores of lives. This initiative could lead to a colossal cut in the number of poisonings.’
