A campaign led by Plumb and Parts Center, Honeywell and the Katie Haines Memorial Trust to make carbon monoxide alarms mandatory with the installation of any carbon-burning appliance has won support from MPs.
MPs from all political parties attended a House of Commons reception staged by campaigners, calling for the installation of carbon monoxide alarms.
The event, hosted by Conservative MP Chris White and supported by Labour’s Lyn Brown, Shadow Minister for Fire and Communities, gave parliamentarians the opportunity to see a hard-hitting film, which graphically illustrates why CO is an indiscriminate killer.
It has been produced by the family of Katie Haines, who have been campaigning since the 31-year-old drowned in her bath in 2010. She was overcome by the deadly gas from a faulty boiler.
“I’m making this impassioned plea today because it’s too late for my family,” Katie’s father Gordon Samuel told MPs. “Nothing will bring my daughter back, but you can help others. CO is not always fatal, many people suffer from irreparable brain damage, heart attacks, and strokes. Taking action can save the NHS an absolute fortune.”
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) says 40 people die every year from accidental CO poisoning and 4,000 people are treated at A&E Departments with symptoms. But Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, says the number of people affected by sub-lethal exposure is likely to be even greater than reported.
Lyn Brown said: “Making the case for CO alarms to become law is common sense. The evidence is clear and the safety benefits are plainly obvious, so I’m on board with the campaign and a Labour government will act.”
Plumb and Parts Center’s Campaign Manager, Gail van Dijk, said: “We hope politicians will act decisively because this is a matter of life and death. Scotland and Northern Ireland have already changed the law and we’re calling on the government to follow suit and change the law in England and Wales. With the General Election just weeks away, we want all political parties to make a clear manifesto commitment to change the law.”