GAS SAFETY WEEK
‘The Ripple Effect’ – the devastating impact that one innocent gas safety slip can have on the whole community
RISE OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD (GAS) WATCH REVEALED...
Gas SafetyWeek 2020
T o mark the 10th anniversary of Gas Safety Week, the Gas Safe Register has released new research and a video designed to encourage people to take action to protect themselves and their local communities. ‘The Ripple Effect’ campaign aims to capitalise on the increased sense of community connectedness among neighbourhoods since the beginning of lockdown. According to a Gas Safe Register study, new connections made between neighbours during lockdown show no signs of waning with more than two in five people (43%) feeling an increased
responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their neighbours since the start of lockdown. Over half of the 2,000 people asked (57%), say they are taking better care of themselves specifically so they can do their part to protect the health of their neighbours. In addition, analysis of UK tweets from January and August this year shows that references to communication between neighbours have more than doubled. THE RIPPLE EFFECT However, as new inspection data from Gas Safe Register reveals, one in every four homes in an average Northern Ireland street community houses at least one dangerous gas appliance. Experts are calling on neighbours to consider not just the health of those they live nearest to, but also their safety by warning of ‘The Ripple Effect’ – the devastating impact that one innocent gas safety slip can have on the whole community.
Speaking from personal experience, Paul Hull, a Gas Safe registered engineer, says, “The Ripple Effect is very real when it comes to the wider impact of unsafe and faulty gas appliances within our own homes and our neighbourhoods. Left unserviced and unchecked year-on-year, appliances such as cookers, fires and boilers can pose life-threatening risks, which can lead to – in some extreme instances - fires and explosions. “What many people do not realise is that such incidences can also have a devastating ripple effect within their communities. From the potential of major structural damages to other homes in the area, to the disconnection of gas supplies for several weeks, which can be particularly distressing during the winter months. This is why people must get clued up on how to stay gas safe within their homes– to help protect both themselves, their neighbours and loved ones.”
“The Ripple Effect is very real when it comes to the wider impact of unsafe and faulty gas appliances within our own homes and our neighbourhoods.”
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