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Contents

1. Urgent safety notice about gas cookers
2. Carbon monoxide alarm recall
3. Be resolute in 2010, fit a smoke alarm and test it routinely
4. The BSS certificate has had a small facelift.
5. BSS Notes and contact details

Urgent safety notice about gas cookers

An urgent appeal has gone out to boaters who remain at risk from potentially fatal carbon monoxide poisoning, to act on a safety alert from the manufacturers of Belling, Flavel, Leisure, New World cookers.
Despite earlier warnings about the dangers and extensive efforts by the manufacturers and Trading Standards to contact affected customers, there are still around 12,000 appliances to be tracked down and boat owners could easily have one of these cookers.
Free modifications by the supplier’s engineers to the cookers are available to prevent the risk of CO if the grill is used accidentally with the door shut. Several boat owners have already had the modifications done and have said it is a quick and simple operation.
The Boat Safety Scheme is urging boat owners, including those that rent and hire their craft and letting agents, to check the brand and model of their cooker today as there is a serious risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, made worse now with the cold weather - people are keeping their windows, hatches and doors closed to keep the cold out, and some may be using their grills improperly to heat their cabins.
The Boat Safety Scheme is advising any boat owners with the following appliances to contact the freephone number on 0800 342 3049 to have the appliance modified as soon as they can.
Belling G755 MkII White
Belling G755 MkII Anthracite
Belling GT755 White
Belling Countrychef 100G Silver
Belling Countrychef 100G Anthracite
New World Vision 50TWLM Silver LPG
New World Vision 50TWLM White LPG
New World Vision 50WLM Silver LPG
New World Vision 50WLM White LPG
Leisure AL6NDW
Leisure CM10NRK
Leisure CM10NRC
Leisure CM101NRCP
Leisure CM101NRKP
Flavel DCGAP5LS
Flavel AP5LDWP
Flavel AP5LDW
Flavel AP5LDSP
Flavel Milano ML5NDS

Carbon Monoxide alarms recall

The Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) is alerting anyone with a battery powered carbon monoxide alarm supplied by LLoytron (model B822) or PowerPlus (model BWK034C / Ref 6167) that some units are being recalled as recent tests have shown that some batches, may not detect, and hence alarm, in the presence of certain concentrations of carbon monoxide.
The advice is to remove the unit and return it to the place where you bought it for a refund or further advice.
The alarms are approximately 11 cm in diameter. The Lloytron item is in blue packaging and the PowerPlus item is sold with blue and yellow packaging
The Boat Safety Scheme believes that carbon monoxide alarms made to the international standard EN 50291and installed according to manufacturers guidelines can give boat owners reassurance, but they should be used alongside a policy of maintaining and using gas, coal, wood and oil burning appliances according to instructions.
There is further information on carbon monoxide in the BSS leaflet, Avoiding the Silent Threat which is available from the BSS Office (01923 201278) and on the BSS website http://www.boatsafetyscheme.com/site/Downloads_174.asp

Push the button is the best thing to do in 2010.

Start the new decade with a positive action to fit a smoke alarm and test it routinely to avoid drowning, not in the cut, but in the toxic smoke of a boat fire says the Boat Safety Scheme.
According to the latest Fire Kills campaign, if you’re asleep when fire breaks out you
BSS media briefing January 2010 web edition Page 3 of 3
could suffer a sensation similar to drowning, and in just two to three breaths of toxic smoke from a fire on your boat, you could be unconscious.
In recent years four people have died in boat fires at night or when they have been asleep and a working smoke alarm could have helped them to escape.
Graham Watts, Boat Safety Scheme manager said “That’s why boaters should make a promise to press the test button when returning to the boat after a gap away and then weekly when aboard. It should just be a matter of habit.”
The alarm of choice is an optical alarm with a long-life battery, a hush button to cover cooking times and one that meets either BS 5446:2000 Part 1, or BS EN 14604:2005, preferably also carrying a Kite or horseshoe certification mark and there’s more detail available on the BSS fire safety website www.boatsafetyscheme.com/fire.

The BSS certificate has had a small facelift.

The next time your examiner issues a BSS Certificate you will notice that the hologram has now gone and in its place is the printed circle and BSS propeller. Your examiner will continue to emboss the certificate issue at this place on the certificate.
The move pre-empts greater emphasis on online licensing and registration by the navigation authorities whereby the combination of the certificate number and examiner PIN provides the assurance to the licensing or registration department about the issue of a certificate to the boat in question.
Boat owners should not be concerned by the lack of the hologram, but if they do have any doubts as to the validity of the certificate their boat has been given they can call the BSS office on 01923 210278,
or email bss.enquiries@boatsafetyscheme.com

Notes for editors

The BSS is a public safety project owned jointly by British Waterways and the Environment Agency. At least 12 other navigation and harbour authorities have also adopted it. The navigation authorities’ purposes for the Scheme are to help reduce the risks of fire, explosion and pollution on small craft. This is done by promoting fire safety and pollution avoidance advice to help boat owners keep themselves and their crews’ safe as well as regular examination of fuel systems, gas systems, electrical systems and appliances.