It’s hard to believe! – But there was a time – before Corgi Gas – when there were no regulations whatsoever and anyone that felt half capable could install a gas appliance.
There have been many changes to the approach with Gas Safety and growing legislation has produced tighter controls, resulting in only qualified Gas Engineers being allowed to carry out work on all Gas related appliances.
Corgi Gas was born out of a disaster in 1968: Following a major gas explosion which claimed 5 lives and injured 17, in a 22 storey block of flats called Ronan Point in Canning Town, London in 1968 there was a determination to protect the public from unsafe gas installations and, in 1970, CORGI (Confederation for the Registration of Gas Installers) was formed
Are there really illegal Gas Engineers out there? – Read this from HSE – Illegal gas workers
It’s a real worry but even today despite all the excellent work by Corgi Gas and Gas Safe that there is still around 1.1 million gas jobs are carried out each year by illegal gas workers who aren’t properly qualified.
In the UK, Isle of Man and Guernsey, Gas Engineers must be registered with the Gas Safe Register by law to work on gas. If the person you’ve hired is not Gas Safe registered they are working illegally and could be putting you at risk of deadly carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, gas leaks, fires and explosions.