1:00 AM 18th October 2023
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Boiler Related Gas Explosions More Deadly Than A Hand Grenade
![Image by Jan Mallander from Pixabay]()
Image by Jan Mallander from Pixabay
New research from Fair Fix, the boiler engineer company, reveals that there were 270 gas explosions in homes across England in 2021/22, 30% of which resulted in significant human injury or death.
Fair Fix has analysed incidents of fire caused by gas explosions in homes in England since 2015 to understand how frequent such incidents are, how dangerous they can be, and the expected cost of repairing damages caused by gas explosions.
The latest figures show that in 2021/22 there were 270 home fires involving gas explosions across England.
The good news is that this figure is -16% lower than it was in the previous year, and the lowest number of annual incidents since at least 2015.
However, fires involving gas explosions in the home remain an extreme danger and the consequences can be far graver than the serious damage caused to a property and the surrounding area.
In fact, in 2021/22, 29% of fires involving gas explosions resulted in human casualty or fatality.
For example, a 2022 gas leak explosion in a home in Kingstanding, Birmingham, killed one person and caused damage to buildings and cars within a blast radius of 35 metres. Police at the scene reported that five or six houses had been damaged in the explosion. It was also found that the boiler in the home was known to be old, dilapidated, and in desperate need of replacement.
The typical gas explosion damage and injury radius ranges between 10-35 metres. To put this into perspective, a hand grenade has a blast radius of 20 metres, making it less catastrophic than the potential blast caused by a faulty boiler.
The blast power of a gas explosion means that if one occurs in the home, it’s incredibly good fortune to avoid human injury or fatality. But even in this best case scenario, the price of repairing damage caused to buildings and cars is still going to be substantial.
The cost of rebuilding a damaged home in England varies between one region and another. The average expected price is £295,778, but the most expensive region to rebuild is London where it’ll cost an estimated £373,000. In the North East and Yorkshire & Humber, however, the rebuild costs will be an estimated £269,000.
Meanwhile, repairing or replacing a damaged car will, on average, cost between £12,000 - £28,000, while even just replacing damaged windows on the home is expensive, costing up to £3,600 per window.
In contrast, the average cost of a new boiler comes in at £2,425, making it a no brainer when considering the potential cost you could incur.
Founder of Fair Fix, Tyrone Ekrem, commented:
“Gas explosions can be devastating both in terms of force and consequences, and they’re all too often caused or facilitated by old or faulty boilers that have not been properly maintained.
"The cost of ignoring or delaying a gas safety check or boiler check is simply not worth the risk and it’s now easier, more affordable, and more convenient than ever to get your boiler checked and serviced.”
Data tables and sources can be viewed online, here.