Four taken to hospital following gas leak in Rochford

FOUR people were taken to hospital after breathing in toxic fumes from a faulty boiler at a home in Rochford.

Firefighters were called to a bungalow in Ironwell Lane at around 10:25 this morning after fears there was a gas leak at the home.

Family members were evacuated from the property with some suffering headaches and dizziness after breathing in foul smelling fumes thought to be emanating from a log burner.

It is not yet known what type of gas was leaking from the boiler but firefighters were confident it was not a carbon monoxide leak as the poisonous gas is colourless, odourless and tasteless.
 

Paramedics are thought to have taken two women and two men to Southend Hospital who were suffering side effects from the leak.
 

Sub-officer Angus Neale from Southend Fire Station, said: “It was quite a pungent smell. It was clearly coming from the boiler area and whether that was down to fuel spilling and venting off we are not sure yet.
 

“When we arrived residents had managed to get members of the family out but one elderly woman was suffering the effects in particular.
 

“It is also tough for us to determine when a property is safe to return to in these cases, because while we ventilate the area with high pressure fans, the fumes could return.”
 

Mr Neale stressed the dangers of using log burners as they are not regulated in the way normal household boilers are.
 

Divisional Officer Neil Fenwick will be raising the issue in the House of Commons.

Mr Fenwick said: "Incidents like this serve as a reminder to people to make sure that their appliances are maintained and checked regularly. The outcome in this case could have been far worse.”

Comments(9)

sosad 1 says...
4:14pm Sun 17 Mar 13

they should be legislated like all domestic other appliences hope the people are ok 2013 more like 1813 what a world something should be done before next winter

Rochford Rob says...
5:33pm Sun 17 Mar 13

Woodburners are perfectly safe. Provided you burn wood in them of course.

Legislation? Don't you think we have enough petty rules and regulations already FFS?

Man has been burning wood for millions of years without the need for rules.

Keep the flue clean and burn the correct wood. It ain't rocket science. Any idiot that manages to kill themselves burning wood is just a consequnece of the gene pool thinning out the stupid.

sosad 1 says...
5:38pm Sun 17 Mar 13

Rochford Rob wrote:
Woodburners are perfectly safe. Provided you burn wood in them of course.

Legislation? Don't you think we have enough petty rules and regulations already FFS?

Man has been burning wood for millions of years without the need for rules.

Keep the flue clean and burn the correct wood. It ain't rocket science. Any idiot that manages to kill themselves burning wood is just a consequnece of the gene pool thinning out the stupid.
i take it you vote ukip nite nite

Diannah says...
5:52pm Sun 17 Mar 13

Rochford Rob wrote:
Woodburners are perfectly safe. Provided you burn wood in them of course.

Legislation? Don't you think we have enough petty rules and regulations already FFS?

Man has been burning wood for millions of years without the need for rules.

Keep the flue clean and burn the correct wood. It ain't rocket science. Any idiot that manages to kill themselves burning wood is just a consequnece of the gene pool thinning out the stupid.
I would tend to agree. A log burner will only give off what is put into it. You don't need legislation to know what is safe to burn and what isn't - only common sense.

sosad 1 says...
6:00pm Sun 17 Mar 13

Diannah wrote:
Rochford Rob wrote:
Woodburners are perfectly safe. Provided you burn wood in them of course.

Legislation? Don't you think we have enough petty rules and regulations already FFS?

Man has been burning wood for millions of years without the need for rules.

Keep the flue clean and burn the correct wood. It ain't rocket science. Any idiot that manages to kill themselves burning wood is just a consequnece of the gene pool thinning out the stupid.
I would tend to agree. A log burner will only give off what is put into it. You don't need legislation to know what is safe to burn and what isn't - only common sense.
have a look out there common sense it dont exsist

Diannah says...
6:51pm Sun 17 Mar 13

sosad 1 wrote:
Diannah wrote:
Rochford Rob wrote:
Woodburners are perfectly safe. Provided you burn wood in them of course.

Legislation? Don't you think we have enough petty rules and regulations already FFS?

Man has been burning wood for millions of years without the need for rules.

Keep the flue clean and burn the correct wood. It ain't rocket science. Any idiot that manages to kill themselves burning wood is just a consequnece of the gene pool thinning out the stupid.
I would tend to agree. A log burner will only give off what is put into it. You don't need legislation to know what is safe to burn and what isn't - only common sense.
have a look out there common sense it dont exsist
QED.

ORACUS says...
2:50am Mon 18 Mar 13

I cant see why an annual safety check would be a bad thing.

perini says...
12:11pm Mon 18 Mar 13

ORACUS wrote:
I cant see why an annual safety check would be a bad thing.
An annual safety check still won't stop the stupid putting painted logs on a burner and then wondering why fumes get given off from it!

Rochford Rob says...
12:55pm Mon 18 Mar 13

sosad 1 wrote:
Rochford Rob wrote: Woodburners are perfectly safe. Provided you burn wood in them of course. Legislation? Don't you think we have enough petty rules and regulations already FFS? Man has been burning wood for millions of years without the need for rules. Keep the flue clean and burn the correct wood. It ain't rocket science. Any idiot that manages to kill themselves burning wood is just a consequnece of the gene pool thinning out the stupid.
i take it you vote ukip nite nite
You make too many assumptions Einstein. How you were able to determine my voting preferences (if any) from my knowledge of woodburning stoves is amazing.

Or were you just trolling?? Nite, nite or 'night, night' ??

Must be cold under your bridge. Don't light any fires though eh?.

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