Every year at Glastonbury travelling communities of gypsies, travellers and showmen attend to work throughout the festival. Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service takes the opportunity to visit the vast mixture of caravans, vans and trucks to offer fire safety information, as well as distributing carbon monoxide detectors. The Service recently heard that their fire prevention and education work at the festival has resulted in saved a family life. Rachel Inman, a traveler was working at Glastonbury and received a free carbon monoxide detector from Mike Toop, Crew Manager from the Wells Group Support Team. Rachel recently contacted Mike saying: Many thanks Mike, for the carbon monoxide detector you gave us at Glastonbury Festival this year, I think it might have saved our lives, or at least the life of our baby daughter! One night, much to our surprise the detector alarm went off and careful inspection of the flu pipe on the wood burner revealed that there was a hairline fracture along the length of it! We immediately removed and replaced it and have been keeping a close eye on it ever since. âThanks again for the wonderful generosity that provided us with a carbon monoxide detector and a smoke alarm free of charge. It has enabled us to keep warm and safe in our trailer.Carbon monoxide Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service remind everyone that carbon monoxide is a highly poisonous gas that has no colour, taste or smell and can be produced by appliances that use gas, wood, oil or coal. Carbon monoxide can also be present in smoke from solid fuel or oil appliances. Carbon Monoxide is potentially fatal and even low-levels of the poison can cause lasting damage to your health. The symptoms of Carbon Monoxide poisoning are similar to the flu. They can include: nausea dizziness tiredness headaches stomach pains chest pains If you experience these symptoms but feel better when you are outside or away from the appliance, you could be suffering from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Immediately turn off all appliances, go outside and seek medical help from a qualified healthcare professional or, if in the UK, call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47. Do not use heaters or cooking appliances that produce yellow instead of mostly blue flames. Malfunctioning appliances should be turned off and not used again until they have been checked and made safe by a registered engineer. Exposure to high levels of CO can kill. General advice Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) powered appliances should be serviced by a Gas Safe registered engineer who is qualified to work with LPG. Solid fuel appliances should be serviced by a solid fuel HETAS registered engineer. Oil fuelled appliances should be serviced by an OFTEC registered engineer.

Gas Safe Register 0800 408 5500 or visit their web site. CO Victim a charity supporting the many victims of Carbon Monoxide