South Shields woman’s alarm plea after life-threatening carbon monoxide scare

Julie Macsorley, 59, had been cooking a chicken at her home when the CO alarm sounded and she wasted no time calling the emergency number and an engineer from Northern Gas Networks (NGN) arrived quickly.

Upon arriving at Julie’s home the engineer capped off the house’s gas supply after detecting potentially life-threatening levels of CO build-up.

Julie said: “I feel lucky to be alive – this could have been a lot, lot worse than it was. Looking back, I’d been feeling a bit tired and washed out in the weeks leading up to the incident, but I didn’t really think too much about it.

“I actually didn’t know what the alarm was when it went off, as it’s just not something you expect to hear. When I realised, I immediately called the emergency line and opened the windows before one of my lovely neighbour persuaded me to take my kitten and wait at their house until the engineer arrived.

“You’d think having been a nurse I would have picked up on the early signs, but carbon monoxide isn’t known as the silent killer for nothing.”

Another gas-safe engineer who visited Julie’s home to inspect her appliances identified her 30-year-old oven as the source of the problem.

The oven has now been condemned and Julie has been taking to Twitter since the incident to warn people of her experience. She’s persuaded her daughter and a neighbour to have CO alarms fitted and some of her social media followers have also said they plan to purchase an alarm.

She added: “I’ve become a massive advocate for CO alarms now and I think they’re a crucial bit of kit that everyone should have in their home.

“Carbon monoxide has no smell or taste so an alarm really is the only way to prevent a small build up becoming a big problem.”

As well as raising awareness of CO alarms amongst friends and family, Julie is also urging people in her neighbourhood to get their gas appliances regularly serviced every year.

NGN’s Director of Customer Services, Eileen Brown, said: “Thankfully Julie did nearly everything right – she had a working alarm fitted, rang the emergency line quickly when she became aware of a problem and then made herself safe until help arrived.

“After this experience she’s now putting in place the missing part of the jigsaw, which is to make sure all gas appliances are serviced regularly by a qualified engineer. I’m delighted the story had a happy ending and that Julie’s become such an advocate for CO safety.”

Anyone who wants to test their knowledge of carbon monoxide can take a specially designed test at https://www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk/network-supply/carbon-monoxide-2/be-a-co-hero/

If you smell gas or suspect carbon monoxide, call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24-hours a day, seven days a week.