Deadly gas blasts threaten the lives of Brits – safety chief
2 Min Read
The Gas Safe Register has warned that homeowners struggling with mounting expenses are neglecting crucial safety assessments.
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Gas blast in Whickham Street, Sunderland
One in every three British families will fail their annual gas safety inspection this year, raising the risk of potentially catastrophic gas explosions. This was attributed to the missing safety checks to the increased expense of living in the United Kingdom, according to Gas Safe Register director Bob Kerr.
Kerr told the Guardian that, despite the fact that an annual boiler service costs around £80 ($96) and a safety check for three gas appliances costs around £60 ($72), one in every three households will opt out this year, despite the fact that leaking pipes and appliances can "lead to fires and explosions that cost lives and shatter neighborhoods."
The warning comes only a week after a gas explosion in Birmingham killed a 79-year-old lady and badly injured a man. According to investigators, a defective boiler may have had a role in the fatal explosion.
Amid the growing crisis in #Ukraine, it seems like #Brits are bracing themselves for difficulties in paying their energy bills, as #European countries scramble to find an alternative for the #Russian gas. pic.twitter.com/bqr4LKqBIG
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 29, 2022
According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, inflation in the UK reached a 40-year high of 9.1 percent in May, while household disposable income will fall at the fastest rate since record-keeping began in the 1950s, and Brits will endure the greatest slide in living standards since 1956.
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Household energy expenditures climbed by a record 54 percent in April, and with more and more homeowners feeling the pinch, Kerr is far from alone in warning of potentially fatal effects. In May, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) reported that its officers had responded to 100 house fires in the preceding months, all of which were sparked by people burning wood in open fires to remain warm.
“The Brigade fears that costly energy bills could result in a surge of fires as people resort to alternative means to heat their homes,” the LFB warned in a statement.
