Holiday lodge blast due to faulty device

A building was totally destroyed in the blast, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said

A holiday cottage was reduced to rubble in an explosion which happened due to a faulty and aged safety device, a fire service has said.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the incident on Bradley Lane in Threapwood, Staffordshire, on 29 December.

The fire service and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation following the explosion concluded it happened due to a faulty liquified petroleum gas (LPQ) regulator.

A woman was taken to hospital with serious burns, and has since recovered, the fire service said.

The regulators are designed to control the pressure of gas supplied to appliances like cookers and heaters.

If they are not working properly the cannot regulate pressure and result in dangerous amounts of flammable gas being released, according to the fire service.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said a faulty regulator was responsible for the blast

They advised regulators be replaced after 10 years or if they are showing visible signs of damage or degradation.

In this incident, the gas regulator was 13 years old, they said.

Fire station manager Leigh Richards, who dealt with the fire investigation, said: “This incident clearly shows how dangerous gas regulators can be if people aren’t aware of the risks involved and what they need to do to look after them.

“We don’t want to blame the owner of this building for what happened and we know that it’s not widely known how seriously things can go wrong if LPG regulators aren’t working properly.

“This explosion happened at the flick of a light switch and could’ve easily resulted in someone losing their life.”

The fire service advised people to replace regulators after 10 years and to fit additional failsafe devices

HSE principal gas engineer Steve Critchlow added: “It is important to install them in accordance with manufacturer’s requirements, and to replace them when they become aged or damaged.”

The fire service advised that all LPG regulators should have a statement of when they were manufactured.

They also advised installing a regulator that is fitted with an over-pressure shut-off (OPSO) as an additional failsafe to stop the regulators from releasing dangerous amounts of gas if they are not working properly.