Hidden dangers of chimney or flue systems concealed within voids

• Have you risk assessed for flues in voids in your organisation?
• Are your tenants at risk of having their boilers turned off if flues can’t be inspected?
• What would this mean to your organisation?

Technical Bulleting 008 (TB008) ED2 – Room-sealed fanned-draught chimney/flue systems concealed within voids, dictates how flues in voids must be categorised and treated.

Key points:

• Gas engineers need to be able to see the chimney/flue, which removes the products of combustion away from the boiler, as part of an essential safety check in accordance with the Gas Safety (Installation &Use) Regulations.
• A chimney/flue system must be inspected on every occasion where gas work is undertaken on a boiler, for example, during a service, maintenance or breakdown call-out.
• In Flats, where all or part of the chimney or flue cannot be seen, arrangements need to be made for inspection hatches to be fitted before 31 December 2012.

As of the 1 January 2013, where a chimney/flue cannot be inspected, a registered gas engineer will be required to:

• turn off the gas supply to the boiler
• categorise as “At Risk”
• formally advise the occupier not to use the appliance until the flue can be inspected in accordance with TB008.