Thomas Cook will be making substantial donations to 6 charities and CO-Gas Safety was mentioned first. See http://news.sky.com/story/1488464/thomas-cook-goodwill-payout-to-corfu-family
We are so grateful to the Corfu parents for this.
Chrsti and Bobby Shepherd will always be remembered by CO-Gas Safety.
We are also grateful to our founders, Molly Maher, the late David Jenkins from RoSPA and Nigel Griffiths an MP in 1995.
We are extremely grateful to all those who have kept us going in so many ways over the years. We continue to work to raise awareness of this hidden danger, provide help for victims and work for sensible safety measures to prevent deaths and injuries from CO and other gas dangers including all other products of combustion.
PRESS RELEASE
CO-Gas Safety thanks the Corfu parents and Thomas Cook for the promise of a very generous donation to the charity to enable it to continue its valuable work of trying to prevent deaths and injuries from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning. The charity also raises awareness of the dangers, provides victim support and collects, collates and publishes data.
In 19 years we have counted 677 deaths and over 4,700 near misses or injuries from unintentional carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in the UK. We have also counted 32 deaths of UK citizens abroad of CO. We know we only receive the tip of an iceberg. Even in cases of unexplained death, bodies are not automatically tested for CO.
We pay tribute to the courage and determination of the Corfu parents and in this long fight.
Many people are still unaware of the dangers and how to prevent CO poisoning. We have lobbied for prime time TV warnings since 1995. Proof is always a real issue because so often landlords will remove the appliance or change it. We can help victims prove their case if they preserve the evidence & contact us soon enough.
In the Corfu case we recommended Harry Rogers, gas expert court witness who undertook an investigation for the parents. In our opinion, without Harry’s investigation, the facts would never have emerged. We are also hugely grateful to Leslie Thomas QC who supported the family so brilliantly in every way.
Our advice is always to get carbon based fuelled* appliances properly installed and maintained, keep chimneys and flues clear, ensure adequate ventilation and install a CO alarm to EN 50291.* (Gas, coal, wood, petrol, diesel etc.)
A battery operated CO alarm to EN 50291 can be taken on holiday even in hand luggage. Why don’t airport shops sell them?
We ask why the energy companies are not funding CO-Gas Safety to help continue this vital work?
Our thanks again to the Corfu parents and Thomas Cook.
Christi and Bobby will always be remembered by CO-Gas Safety.