IGEM Guidance on CO Alarm Activation & Fumes Reports

In March 2022 the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM) published a 17 page supplement to their G 11 “Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure” document. This supplement, titled “Responding to domestic CO alarm activations/reports of fumes after attendance by the emergency service provider or the Liquefied Petroleum Gas supplier”, is intended to offer additional guidance to engineers who experience reports of a CO alarm activation or fumes in present within a domestic premise.

The guidance provides a safe procedure for addressing these situations, including when to escalate the incident to a specially qualified engineer, such as someone holding a CMDDA1 certificate. The procedure assumes the engineer is using a calibrated EN50379 approved Flue Gas Analyser, such as a Kane analyser, to establish if a genuine danger is present at the property.

The image below shows the procedure, beginning with the engineers arrival on site, and walks them through each potential step and outcome to arrive at the safest conclusion.

CO poisoning accounts for roughly 40 deaths and 200 hospitalisations per year in England and Wales. Ensuring this risk can be mitigated by properly educated domestic gas engineers is an important step towards reducing these numbers and creating a safer environment for all.

In addition to improved process and best practise, there exists an array of products designed specifically to offer additional layers of protection from CO poisoning. The Kane78 Personal CO Detector is a combined gas detector and ID badge holder which can be worn around the neck at all times, ensuring the wearer is alerted to the presence of CO immediately. Wireless and remote CO detection is also possible through the use of a device such as the Kane79 Wireless Ambient CO Monitor, allowing those with Kane Link enabled flue gas analysers to monitor CO levels from outside the property. Below, we have included a selection of Kane Link enabled analysers for browsing.

IGEM provide a host of guidance and learning tools through their website, all of which can be viewed here. If you would like to browse our full range of EN50379 approved Flue Gas Analysers and accessories, you can find them here. Or, if you’d prefer, you can contact our expert sales team on 0113 248 9966 or sales@test-meter.co.uk for advice on any of our products.