Suffering an emergency with your oil or LPG supply is luckily a rare occurrence that most of our customers won’t have to experience. However should the worst case scenario happen, it pays to be aware of the process you should follow to ensure your safety and to prevent environmental pollution if possible.
Contact the emergency line as soon as possible:
Gleaner Ltd depots will be closed for 2 days for Christmas and another 2 days over the New Year period New Year periods. Should you suffer an oil or LPG emergency during this time, it is important to follow the usual procedure.
Gleaner has an emergency telephone line, which is monitored at all times (24 hours a day, 7 days a week including over the festive period and public holidays). As soon as you have become aware of an issue youshould call 01343 543 535 and explain the situation. If it is deemed necessary a member of our team will be in touch to let you know what you should do next.
It is important to note that the emergency line should not be used if you have run dry or low of oil or LPG. In this instance you would need to contact your local delivery depot once they have reopened.
Our boiler maintenance department also operate a breakdown service for oil and gas boilers, which covers the festive period as well as weekends and public holidays. The service is available between 8am – 5pm, should you require a call out phone the office on 01343 557 435 and leave a message on the answer machine. A member of the team will call you back as soon as we can.
How to deal with an oil spill or LPG leak:
Dealing an oil spill or an LPG leak quickly and efficiently could prevent or limit damaged caused to the environment or yourself.
Steps to take for an oil spill emergency
1) Identify where the oil leak has come from
This could be an obvious crack or split in the oil storage tank, or it could be damage caused to a valve or fuel supply line, which may be harder to identify.
2) Where possible reduce or stop the oil flow
Cat litter, sand and earth can be used to absorb any oil which has spilled out of the storage tank and used to create a barrier to prevent the oil spill spreading further, causing more environmental pollution. It’s important to remember to never use water or detergents to wash away spilt oil as this will cause the pollution to spread even further. A bar of soap can be used to help plug any small cracks on the oil storage tank as a temporary measure until it can be emptied of the oil contents.
3) Make it known you have suffered an oil leak
You should contact Gleaner on the emergency line number as soon as possible. You should also contract your local authority’s environmental health department and provide details of the spill, particularly if the spilt oil is at risk of entering a water system. If necessary you may also need to make your insurance provider or landlord aware of the oil spill.
Steps to take for an LPG leak
1) Act promptly if you smell gas
LPG has a distinctive smell and should be easily recognisable. It is important to act quickly if you can smell gas to prevent a serious situation occurring such as a fire or carbon monoxide poisoning.
2) The source of LPG should be switched off if safe to do so
If it is safe to do so you should switch off the supply of LPG from the storage tank/vessel. Gas will continue to leak out until it has been switched off and the source of the leak identified and fixed. You should ensure your personal safety at all time and should only attempt to switch off the supply of LPG if this does not pose a danger to you.
3) Keep away from the danger until help arrives
Should an LPG leak occur inside you should open the windows and doors to allow the gas to disperse safely. You should ensure you move to an area with a supply of fresh air. As gas is highly flammable you should ensure there are no sources of ignition present until you are told that it is safe.
4) Make it known that you have suffered an LPG leak
As soon as possible you should contact Gleaner’s emergency line for assistance. You will also need to contact a Gas Safe registered engineer to fix the gas appliance and ensure your LPG supply is safe to use once again.
Gleaner ltd has OFTEC and Gas Safe registered engineers who will be able to identify and correct any faults with your LPG system.
How to deal with a fire:
Both oil and LPG are highly flammable liquids and can therefore be a fire risk. In the case of a fire emergency firstly you should get yourself to safety and then call 999 immediately. Only if it is safe to do so, isolate the oil or gas at the tank. It’s important to make the fire service aware of any hazards such as a domestic oil storage tank or LPG vessel, as these pose a high risk should they become compromised by the fire.
The dangers of carbon monoxide and the steps to take in an emergency:
Carbon monoxide can be produced by faulty appliances which are not correctly or fully burning fuel as they should. It is particularly dangerous because it is tasteless and odourless meaning it cannot be detected by humans.
Carbon Monoxide poisoning could be fatal and must be taken seriously. It can cause tiredness, confusion, headaches, dizziness, nausea, sickness, shortness of breath and loss of coordination. Installing a carbon monoxide detector is the best way to protect yourself from carbon monoxide poisoning as it will alert you to any dangers.
Should you suspect a carbon monoxide leak it is important to act quickly and follow the steps below
1) Open windows and doors to let in as much fresh air as possible
2) Turn off all appliances which could be at fault for the leak
3) Contact an OFTEC or Gas Safe registered engineer to identify and fix the fault with your oil or gas boiler. Gleaner’s engineers will be able to provide this service for you, and can be contacted on 01343 557 435.
If you do not have a carbon monoxide alarm, we would recommend installing one. These can be supplied and installed by our boiler maintenance engineers.
