Two men's deaths caused by faulty cooker
A FAULTY grill which emitted dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide caused the deaths of two men, an inquest was told.
Five other people in the UK were killed by operating the grill in the two months before the device was bought, the inquest heard.
Richard Smith, aged 30, and Kevin Branton, aged 32, were found dead in their home in Woodlands Terrace, Saltash, on Saturday December 13 2010.
A verdict of accidental death for both men was recorded by a jury at Truro County Hall yesterday.
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Speaking at the inquest, gas engineer Steve Critchlow, who investigated the property after the deaths were discovered, said it was likely that the grill had been turned on by mistake after a pie was put in the oven.
The expert said the Flavel Milano 50 grill had a seal circulating the door which prevented oxygen from getting to the flames.
This caused dangerous levels of the odourless and highly toxic gas carbon monoxide to spread throughout the house in just a few minutes.
Speaking on behalf of the two men's families, Richard Smith's father, Brian Smith, said: "Richard and Kevin had the rest of their lives ahead of them but their lives were tragically ended by something as simple as a grill door on a cooker.
"Kevin and Richard have left huge gaps in our hearts and for everyone who knew them we will miss them for everyday of our lives."
The cooker was purchased by Richard's parents in December 2008 from Derry's Cooperative in Plymouth.
Five others have died by operating the grill with the door closed, the inquest heard.
"Testing of household appliances is not adequate," Mr Smith said.
"More time and money must be spent on making sure they are safe.
"Richard and Kevin are not the first to lose their lives in this way but hopefully they will be the last," he added.
Trading Standards officer Gary Webster said that in July 2010 the British testing standards had been modified to include tests on grills with the door closed.
Mr Webster said that 21,000 appliances across the UK were sold with the defect.
After discovering the problem the manufacturing company Beko attempted to contact customers who had purchased the faulty grill. Mr Webster said that more than 80 per cent of customers have been contacted.
The appliance can be made safe by a simple modification which involves removing part of the seal.
"In 2009, 10,542 units were in the process of being modified," Mr Webster said.
"There are approximately 10,000 units which have still not been modified across the UK," he added.
Following the verdict, the families paid tribute to their loved ones.
Richard, who worked as an administrative officer, was described by his father as "a very gentle and fun-loving person."
Richard's brother Damien said: "He was happy go lucky."
Kevin Branton's mother Denise Wray said: "Kevin was a person who loved life. He loved working and loved to spend his money socialising with his friends.
"He will be missed by his family and all his friends every day."
Comments
by iamajc
Saturday, December 08 2012, 4:03PM
“charlie, not as quick as all that, not clean and not safe, 49 dead 3477 injured in 2007
Your pic looks like a neanderthal and your comments generally confirm your intelligence is neanderthal
thick as two short planks about sums you up
on this page you want to phase out something 230 years old, on another you rant about rubbish from a 2000 year old work of fiction to live your life by, at least have some continuity. Troll.
if you had one more brain cell it would be lonely mucker”
by CharlieDodd
Saturday, December 08 2012, 3:20PM
“Iamjc said- 'Natural Gas has been used since around 1785'..
All the more reason to phase it out then, we hear of accidental gas explosions and carbon monoxide fatalities all the time, and that big hideous rusting gasometer at Cattedown should be sold off for scrap!
My place is all-electric, quick clean and safe..:)”
by circles1
Saturday, December 08 2012, 3:12PM
“@imac zzzzzzzzzzz”
by iamajc
Saturday, December 08 2012, 2:25PM
“CharlieDobb
Natural Gas has been used since around 1785 so well before the Victorian era and Electricity was becoming common at the end of the Victorian era, but don't let the facts get in the way of another uneducated rant eh Sunshine...”
by iamajc
Saturday, December 08 2012, 2:05AM
“Timplymouth
Nuclear Clean? Far from it. Unless you only look at purely emissions as nothing is burnt. How many submarines have been tied up in devonport and rosyth dockyards some since the 1980's because a method for the "clean" disposal has yet to be found, if you have ever worked in the Nuclear section of the dockyard you will have seen the mutant pigeons that inhabit that area.(I have). What about the huge cost of the decommissioning nuclear power stations currently running into billions. And what about the long time storage of the radioactive fuel rods which have a half life running into tens of thousands of years, when we build them they well have to be maintained for their lifetimes. We can't just put them into the ground and hope it will be alright. Very few human constructions have lasted as long as that and the ones that have, are compared to their original condition, in a fairly poor state. Then we have Chernobyl, Fukushima, Three Mile Island and Sellafield to mention but a few.”
by iamajc
Saturday, December 08 2012, 1:35AM
“by CharlieDodd
"It's about time gas was phased out nowadays, it's been around since Victorian times. Electricity is far safer and easier
Until it goes wrong that is Charlie, Electricity can kill too, either by electrocution or causing fires. Insulation can break down in older cable causing both these problems before you even consider faulty appliances. In 2007 49 people died and 3477 were injured through faults or mis-use of electrical appliances so not that safe after all. http://tinyurl.com/atmjv4a I do hope your advice on god is more accurate....
The cooker in this case was badly designed and therefore not fit for purpose, I would imagine a badly designed electrical appliance could be fatal too.
Gas cookers are flueless appliances meaning all the products of combustion enter the room/house, when fitting cookers the volume of the air in the room must be considered and these figures will be stated in the manufacturers instructions some will recommend having permanent ventilation or an openable window.
Grills on gas cookers will usually give off carbon monoxide until they heat up and are up to temperature. More expensive gas cookers will sometimes have safety devices installed (flame supervision device) that can sense low oxygen levels and cut the supply of gas off. These are also fitted to modern gas fires thus shutting the appliance down if there is not enough oxygen to support complete combustion of the gas.”
by timplymouth
Saturday, December 08 2012, 12:07AM
“They have 3 photos, 2 are of the cooker.
If you have a gas appliance then you need a carbon monoxide alarm.
Electricity is safer and easier and potentially greener (when nuclear). Unfortunately it's also more expensive than gas.”
by CharlieDodd
Friday, December 07 2012, 6:04PM
“It's about time gas was phased out nowadays, it's been around since Victorian times. Electricity is far safer and easier.”
by leroc
Friday, December 07 2012, 5:19PM
“"why the hell didnt this paper show a picture of the faulty grill for everyone to see"
That's because they want you to buy the paper where you can see the faulty cooker.”
by marshmills
Friday, December 07 2012, 12:44PM
“why the hell didnt this paper show a picture of the faulty grill for everyone to see”