06/08/2026
Another day, another example.
If you have a gas fire, get it serviced 'even if you never use it". Because if it's still connected, you might just be tempted to turn it on one cold damp night, and it might not be safe to use, especially if It's not been inspected/serviced for a few years.
If you genuinely don't use it, get it decommissioned by a gas safe engineer and you'll not need to worry about it again.
These are photos of the gas's fire I went out to yesterday.
Even though the chimney pot had a 'witches hat' bird guard fitted, It certainly didn't stop the crows and jackdaws (who must have had a competition to see who could drop the most random items through the bird guard and down the chimney).
There was a Childs sock, barbwire, nails, half a tree and a handful of steel washers.
But not only is most of this debris flammable, it was also well on the way to stacking high enough where it could've blocked the flue on the gas fire. That would've have caused Carbon Monoxide (CO) to be produced, and would've put the CO into the room and not up the chimney.
So I had to cap the gas and remove the fire until the Tower Sweep in Ballymena can come out to clean/check the chimney and confirm its all clear before I re-fit the gas fire.
