Third gas incident in 18 months on carbon monoxide death estate
Residents on a housing estate where a young woman died of carbon monoxide poisoning have had been hit by a third set of gas problems in 18 months.
The gas supply to six flats on the Bedfont Lakes estate, near Hounslow, was switched off on 22 September following a gas leak in a cupboard connecting the gas supply to the block and to a service pipe.
The latest issue comes after 14 boilers were switched off for safety reasons last autumn when a resident reported further problems with the gas supply to flats on the estate.
The problems began in February last year when teacher Elouise Littlewood, 26, died in the new build home she co-owned with Notting Hill Housing following a carbon monoxide leak.
All the homes on the Barratt-built estate, including Ms Littlewood’s, had a full set of gas safety certificates.
A spokesperson for Notting Hill said the latest issue had involved a ‘minor escape of gas’.
Gas operator Transco had been called out by Barratt after one of its operatives smelled gas in the cupboard on the estate.
‘In this instance Transco made a temporary repair in order to enable the supply to be reinstated to the six flats affected,’ the spokesperson said.
‘A permanent repair was undertaken and completed by the original installer on Saturday 26 September.’
She added that a thorough soundness test of the connection to the gas supply was undertaken following Ms Littlewood’s death.
‘Such joints can occasionally fail over time in new buildings due either to settlement of the building or drying of paste applied to seal the joints,’ she added. ‘All riser cupboards are properly ventilated to ensure there is no dangerous build up of gas and regular inspections of riser cupboards are the responsibility of the managing agents.’
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Readers' comments (2)
Peter | 03/10/2009 8:30 am
These joints very very rarely fail and if they do it is because they have been incorrectly installed and has nothing to do with 'settlement of the building or drying of paste applied to seal joints'! This is a very flippant comment and the spokesperson should know better.
Notting Hill HA really need to properly investigate the quality of the work carried by Barratt on this estate. The problems arose so far cannot be just coincidental.
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chris | 26/02/2010 12:17 pm
NHTT replaced a condemned gas boiler on 04.04.08 for no seal on the inside or out, and that the flue vent pipe terminated inside the external wall.
This had been installed by Robert Heath Heating in 09.09.03 to 14.01.04.
The replacement boiler installed in 04.08 had a condensation pipe fixed to an existing waste soil pipe leaked. The "problem" with NHHT is that some staff alter
the customer management journal, it is not the contractors fault nor the customer telephonist staff at fault it is the managements responsibility, to ensure there is good communication between departments
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