MP drives home CO safety message

9:19am Friday 19th October 2007

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On day five of Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week, Marjorie McIntyre talks to North-East MP Fraser Kemp, who has been one of the Government's driving forces drawing attention to the so-called silent killer.

MP Fraser Kemp has worked tirelessly to highlight the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The member of Parliament for Houghton and Washington East believes the answer to combating the deadly threat lies in a multi-pronged approach.

He said: "We need the medical profession on board to highlight the symptoms, we need the fuel industries to play their part and we need a multi-agency approach to keep on increasing public awareness."

Yesterday, applauding The Northern-Echo for its long-running CO campaign, Mr Kemp said: "I congratulate The Northern Echo for its continuing campaign over many years highlighting the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

"I have no doubt that the paper's efforts have helped save lives."

He also praised Tyne and Wear firefighters, who are installing hundreds of CO detectors in homes across the region.

Raising awareness, he said, was already proving an effective means of ensuring that householders and landlords have fuel-burning appliances and flues regularly checked by accredited engineers.

It was also clear, he said, that many more people were installing carbon monoxide alarms.

"We want to achieve a situation were CO alarms are being fitted as regularly as smoke alarms now are."

Increased installations of CO alarms, he predicted, would effectively see the cost of the battery-operated detectors coming down.

Stressing the need to keep on driving the CO warnings home, Mr Kemp's message was clear: "Raising awareness save lives."

Playing their part, Middlesbrough Council community protection officers this week manned an information display stand in the town's shopping centre.

Officers handed out information and advice to shoppers about the perils of CO poisoning, which not only claims lives each year, but leaves many more suffering symptoms of chronic poisoning.

Councillor Barry Coppinger, executive member for community safety and leisure on the authority, said: "CO emissions can affect us and our loved ones without us even knowing much about the problem and how it is caused.

"Getting the public informed is vital."