Many people think Gas Servicing is a waste of time and money.
“You can see the Fire is burning alright. If there was a problem I’d call an engineer.”
We were called because the fire smelled a bit.
Well, that was the attitude of the Carlisle family we visited recently. As you can see from the image the Fireplace opening was filled with soot and debris.
With old chimneys normally before the 1960s flues were built square. Chimney sweeps brushes are round. This leaves lots of room for soot to accumulate in the corners of the chimney. This soot will eventually fall as it did in this chimney filling the space behind the Fire right up to the Gas Fire Flue.
Add to this the fact that the Fire was an old one without a modern Oxygen Depletion Sensor and you can see that this is the exact scenario you need to make Carbon Monoxide.
These householders had a lucky escape. Had the opening behind the Fire been smaller or they had delayed a little longer in getting a new Fire, someone, if not all in that house could have died.