Gas Safety On Holiday

Although the holiday season can be great fun, it can come with its fair share of risks. Cooker related fires are the leading cause of house fires and injuries, with Christmas Day being one of the busiest days for the fire department!

When your holidays do come around, you need to be extra careful to ensure that your family is safe and sound – whether holidaying at home, visiting relatives, or travelling to any form of different holiday accommodation.

To help you stay safe, here are some top gas safety tips which you can use both on holiday and at home.

1. Never Leave Cooking Unattended

One of the most important tips that you need to follow is ensuring that you never leave cooking unattended – especially on a cooking appliance which is not your own! You might think that it is perfectly fine to leave, but it is so much easier to get distracted during your holiday! Let’s face it, during any holiday, time can often fly by…a quick dip in the pool, one more drink, games that go on a little longer than you expected etc etc.

2. Get Your Gas Appliances Checked

For your own home, you should definitely be getting your gas appliances checked by a safe gas engineer every year. The gas safety certificate cost isn’t expensive and it helps keep ongoing maintenance costs down and efficiency up!

The same should apply to the holiday accommodation you are staying in, but each country has different rules and regulations which does make it tricky to follow. Although the responsibility to check any gas appliance is not the guest’s, don’t be afraid to check the quality and status of any appliance before using it – and don’t be afraid to ask to see the certificate if concerned.

3. Never Leave Anything Flammable Near The Cooker Top

The worst mistake that you can make is leaving something flammable next to any cooking appliance as 60% of cooking fires originate from cooker range top fires. Some things are more obvious than others, but when on holiday and using a different stove to the one you have at home, you need to be even more careful – keep an eye out for food wrappers, wooden utensils and oven mitts especially.

Don’t forget to keep your cooker clean too! It’s easy for oil/fat and food residue to build up and when on holiday you never really know how much of a deep clean your cooker has received!

5. Create a Kid-Free Cooking Zone

Cooking with the kids is great fun for everyone, but until they are invited to help, the kitchen should really be out of bounds to the youngsters! This is even more important when on holiday and in an unfamiliar accommodation!

6. Avoid Using Gas Appliances Under The Influence

This one should be obvious, but when in the holiday spirit this can often be overlooked…or the rules bent at the very least.

7. Install Carbon Monoxide Alarms

Carbon monoxide poisoning is lethal and also avoidable! Signs of carbon monoxide exposure include headache, weakness, dizziness, upset stomach, chest pain, vomiting, and confusion.

You should already have an alarm in your own household, but for your holidays you can get a portable alarm to take with you.

If a carbon monoxide leak is detected, you should immediately open the windows to increase ventilation and contact an expert to handle the situation.

8. Only Use Your Gas Appliances When Necessary

Another obvious one, but lastly, you should only use your gas appliances for their intended purpose. For example, in a power cut, or when out camping, your cooker should never be used for as a heat source!