Is this a breach of fire safety regulations in a HMO?

[Energize]

So yesterday I turned the gas hob on and the plastic knob broke apart in my hand and it was virtually impossible to then turn it to the off position and the igniter wasn't working either so gas was filling the kitchen, I opened all the windows and doors and called the letting agent while I desperately tried to find the gas isolation valve, the letting agent said she didn't know where it was! I was on the verge of calling the fire brigade when I found a pair of pliers and with a hell of a lot of effort managed to grip the metal dial tightly enough that I could turn it to the off position (Yeah I realise in hindsight I could have just lit the burner using one of the other hobs and it wouldn't have been such an urgent situation then).

Turns out in the end that the valve was where the meter was which was in an unused locked bedroom. Surely the landlord/letting agent must be expected to know where the emergency cut off points are for the gas supply, and surely the tenants should be able to have access to that at all times in case of a more serious leak such as damage to the plumbing etc. Normally when I've been in rented accommodation there is a fire plan on the wall with the location of all the exits and safety valves. I can just imagine someone drunk in the same situation as me and leaving the gas on all night! Is there any legislation that governs this? Hopefully they will just replace the hob because it is old, preferably with electric induction so that particular hazard is avoided.

Or is this just a case of you get what you pay for?

Are there any alarms I can fit in the kitchen that will detect gas?

 

[Energize]

Does this hob only have one knob? Could you not have yanked another one off and used that?

I tried that but it was pretty stiff and I think would have broke as well had I tried to force it any harder.

 

[Energize]

For the property? It should be by the meter.

Turns out in the end that the valve was where the meter was which was in an unused locked bedroom.

 

[Energize]

Did you consider that when putting the pliers on the metal dial part tightly and using force to turn it, that this could have under friction caused a spark?

The gas had only been on for a minute at that point.

 

[Energize]

I wouldn't expect a random Letting Agent to have that information at their fingertips for every rented house they are involved with. The rule-of-thumb is that there is a gas isolation valve next to your gas meter.



Yes, you should have ignited the gas ring to use up the escaping gas until you could find a way to turn it off. It must be an old gas cooker, because those manufactured over the last 5 years commonly have a FMS (Flame Management System) which uses thermocouples near the gas outlets to monitor the temperatures there and turn the gas supply off if the flame goes out (or if the flame doesn't comes on after a few seconds).



The Landlord should know and his/her designated HMO Manager should know (the Letting Agent is not automatically the latter). Yes, the tenants should know where the gas isolation valve is and have easy access to it in order to turn it off in an emergency. Obviously, it is very much in the Landlord's interest that the tenants know this to avoid a fire/gas explosion and potential manslaughter charges if negligence is subsequently proven. The Landlord/HMO Manager should do a short Fire Safety course with all of their tenants every year to ensure the emergency procedures/fire extinguisher operating protocols etc are understood by everyone.



Yes, that is standard practice. A Council HMO inspector would advise that this is done.



Something similar happened in a HMO I rented a room in once. Not because of the gas cooker failing but because a drunk student came in at 2 AM, heated up some soup on a gas ring to eat before going to bed, but forgot to turn the gas ring off and went to bed. The flame blew out because she left the window open and in the morning when we came down for breakfast the kitchen reeked of gas. I had to tell everyone not to turn on any lights, use any electrical appliances etc and open all the doors and windows to get rid of the gas. Of course, they all blamed me, not her for the inconvenience!



They should at least replace the old gas cooker with a new one that has a FMS on it. If they don't do this complain to your Council's HMO department. Old gas cookers often fail the GSC (Gas Safety Certificate) inspection because their oven usually releases too much Carbon Monoxide. You might want to check the Gas Safety Certificates for the last few years to see if they have ever had the CO levels produced by it checked.



The landlord has already failed in his legal duties by not giving you access to the gas isolation valve for emergencies. Your gas cooker sounds very dodgy too. My last gas cooker failed its GSC after less than 4 years of use (CO production by the oven due to tenants never cleaning it out).

Yes, there are alarms which can detect gas, but the gas cooker definitely should be replaced with a modern FMS one so they should not be necessary. Do you have Carbon Monoxide detectors in every room with a gas appliance and on every floor of the HMO? Because they are a legal requirement too.

Luckily the oven is electric because god know what state that would be in, but this hob doesn't seem to be thermocoupled as I held the button down for like 30 seconds on one of the other hobs and the gas kept flowing. There's an alarm in every room, but don't know if they detect CO, the only room with any gas appliances is the kitchen with the combi boiler and hob. I was more wondering if there were any readily available alarms that would detect natural gas if the hob got left on unignited.