News desk... keeping you up-to-date with happenings
Main adultsx Page... more categoriesIf this is your first visit please click here before continuing
| Gas heater blamed for shower deaths An inquest has heard how a couple died in a shower in west Wales after choking from fumes from a faulty gas-heater. Rosalyn Harris, 22, and 31-year-old Karl Bissett had been sharing a shower at her parent's house in Pembrokeshire when the incident happened. The court was told Health and Safety Executive (HSE) officials subsequently found faults with the heater which included wrong installation and a lack of servicing. Coroner Michael Howells recorded verdicts of misadventure at the double inquest in Milford Haven. The inquest heard how Ms Harris's adoptive father, John Harris, had broken down the bathroom door after he realised the water had been running for more than half an hour. Mr Harris told the court he did not know the pair had gone into the shower at his home at White Hill in Cresselly. "I knocked hard and still couldn't get an answer. I thought the two of them might be in there and were too embarrassed to answer," he said. "I knocked on the window and hammered on the door. I eventually broke the door down. "The shower curtain was around my daughter's face and they were both on their backs and with no clothes on. "I opened the window and turned the shower off. I couldn't smell gas." Carbon monoxide is dubbed the "silent killer" by safety chiefs because it is odourless and colourless. The gas claims dozens of lives every year from poorly-ventilated heating systems. A HSE report into the deaths concluded that carbon monoxide was being "pumped back" into the bathroom instead of being ventilated outside. The court was told that Mr Harris and neighbours had tried to resuscitate the couple as paramedics were called. But the pair were pronounced dead at Withybush Hospital in Havefordwest in Pembrokeshire. Mr Howells said: "It is important that gas appliances should be serviced and installed in the correct way. This was a terrible tragedy." The couple had been staying with Ms Harris while house-hunting for a place together. After the inquest on Thursday her brother Matthew, 27, said: "As a family we hope that it will make other people aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning from these types of showers. "They need to be checked regularly to make sure they are in good working order and there is nothing wrong with them. "We hope that our tragedy will help to save lives in the future." 26th January 2002 |
Copyright 2001 adultsx All Rights Reserved
ACIP worldwide copyright protection If you believe we have infringed on a copyright that you own
please contact us and the offending item will be removed immediately
Grateful appreciation to all contributors. Emma