# Carbon monoxide poisoning/heating in Greece



## hiatusxenia (May 6, 2013)

Not unnaturally, there is a large amount of publicity here in England concerning the tragic case of two young children poisoned by carbon monoxide from a boiler in Greece. I am interested in what sort of gas would have been used to supply this boiler? I hadn't realised there was any mains supply in Greece, let alone any of the islands. Does anyone know?


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

hiatusxenia said:


> Not unnaturally, there is a large amount of publicity here in England concerning the tragic case of two young children poisoned by carbon monoxide from a boiler in Greece. I am interested in what sort of gas would have been used to supply this boiler? I hadn't realised there was any mains supply in Greece, let alone any of the islands. Does anyone know?


I have lived in Greece for many years so I know about the shoddy health and safety or total lack of.What happened here was that the spent fuel from the boiler was passing out inside or through a cavity wall instead of directly from a pipe out into the open air away from windows and people or high up.As it went through the cavity there was a hole for the air conditioning into the room and the carbon monoxide in the spent fuel unfortunately escape inside the house via the hole.Builders dont usually fill in old holes from various past things here, too lazy,often still gaping wide open 10 years on,but it should of course never have been allowed by the work-person to have been directed into the cavity.A friend of mine told me of a couple,relatives of hers who stayed in Spain with two small children in a studio apartment,they put the children to sleep and decided to take their bath/shower etc.. together,luckily they closed the bathroom door but the gas water heaters spent fuel was not going outside via a pipe properly and was going into the bathroom,sadly they were both killed,the children lived because the door was closed.I have heard of people who felt ill for some years and didnt know why, when later on they realized that the downstairs flats spent fuel pipe from their boiler was blowing upwards and into their window which was often open.We must all be vigilant and suspect any boiler etc that we personally do not know its maintenance history,spent fuel kills.Thats why be careful if you are ever stuck in heavy on- going snow-fall and you stay inside your car with your heater on intermittently,you must go out frequently to clear the snow from the exhaust pipe otherwise the fumes will go inside.Wood burners can be lethal if any joined pipes are not sealed properly,it comes into the room,lots of people have not felt right for years then found out that some kind of spent fuel was escaping into the house.I expect the boiler concerned in this sad case may have been petrol,its not the fuel itself,its the carbon monoxide in the spent fuel that sometimes gains access into the living area.Bad workmanship can cause unimaginable grief.


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

*carbon monoxide poisoning*

Another thing to be aware of is also the fact that many people like to convert an attic loft-space into a room and leave the exposed brick-work on the chimney breast in there which comes up through the house and maybe they will use an open fire or wood-burner or run a gas fire through it from down below but as I remember from my house when I went into my loft space,the original brickwork and the pointing to the last section in the loft was really in poor condition,many bricks had holes and much of the pointing had dropped out.This could be a death trap,so probably best to re- render the last part in the loft if it is to be converted,best to fix it anyway though I think.And to tell you that there is mains gas in Athens in my suburb of Egaleo,they dug up the roads for years,God help us all if some hopeless work person digs somewhere they shouldnt,we will all be blown sky high,sometimes home-owners dig things themselves here and know nothing of gas pipes.Im real scared of the tiny gas thing I have for making the Greek coffee.


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## hiatusxenia (May 6, 2013)

Thank you for your detailed reply Concertina! I see I was concentrating on the gas aspect when in fact any sort of fuel can be lethal if allowed to seep back inside. How worrying for you.


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## hiatusxenia (May 6, 2013)

I'm sorry, I pressed 'send' too soon! I was also going to apologise for my ignorance in these matters & thank you for the tip about clearing exhaust pipes and loft spaces. These are probably be more relevant to me these days but I shall certainly be far more vigilant in future when visiting other places.


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## kefvmr05 (Sep 25, 2012)

Just put a carbon monoxide alarm in the house , they are not expensive and save lifes.


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## hiatusxenia (May 6, 2013)

kefvmr05 said:


> Just put a carbon monoxide alarm in the house , they are not expensive and save lifes.


 Yes, I shall just put one in my luggage next time I travel!!


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## hiatusxenia (May 6, 2013)

Yes, I shall just put one in my luggage next time I travel!


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