Safety Issues Concerning Flues In Hidden Voids

Recently, the Gas Safe Register and Health and Safety Executive have raised serious safety concerns in respect of the use of heating appliance flues located in internal voids within buildings. A working party cross-government group has been created to deal with these safety concerns and registered social landlords have been consulted and requested to help identify any situations involving gas boiler flues passing through internal voids.

The safety issues surround the installation of boilers fixed to internal walls in properties where the flue is directed through an area containing a void, for example, a vertical flue passing through a ceiling into the floor area above and no inspection cover is installed. Since this hidden part of the flue cannot be properly inspected, a compromised flue in the void area may release significant amounts of products of combustion, including carbon monoxide, into living or sleeping areas, which could be lethal to residents.

With progression of technology during the last decade, manufacturers of heating appliances can now provide installers with longer lengths of flue gas discharge pipe work that can also turn in several directions. Although the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 places a legal duty on all landlords to check the fittingness and effectiveness of a heating appliance flue, residents are often unaware of the path and direction of flues concealed in voids and may mistaken staining on a ceiling surface that is caused by products of combustion and/or flue condensate, as a water or grease stains and more so when the boiler is located in a kitchen.

Emphasis has been put on notifying residents, particularly those who own or rent flats and apartments that were constructed or refurbished between 2000 and 2007, of these safety concerns through various initiatives including newsletters, trade talks and meetings. New buildings constructed over this period could also be identified using the house stock database which will help the industry provide a means of inspecting the properties for possible safety concerns and install appropriate inspection covers that comply with relevant standards and current regulations.

Obviously, every heating professional who services and maintains gas boilers are in a unique position to identify flues that are concealed and take the necessary action to remedy the problem. From the data collected, heating professionals will also be able to identify a pattern that may exist on a particular housing estate giving a clear indication that other properties on the estate might be at risk from the same problem. As a further precaution, heating professionals should also carry out an ambient carbon monoxide build up test using a flue gas analyser in all habitable areas where the flue passes through to ensure dangerous carbon monoxide levels are not present when the heating appliance is operating.