Understanding Gas Warning Labels

When having your gas appliances serviced annually, a gas safety engineer might deem an appliance to be unsafe. They will then label it according to it’s fault. 

If your Gas Safe registered engineer identifies an unsafe situation during a gas safety check or service, they’ll follow the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure (GIUSP). Here’s what the procedure involves:

• They’ll first look to find the cause of the issue and rectify any faults.
• If this isn’t possible, they’ll let you know that the faults must be repaired before the appliance can be used again.
• If they can’t correct the problem straight away, they’ll request your permission to make the installation safe by disconnecting it or turning off the gas supply to the affected part.

There are two types of unsafe categories:

Immediately dangerous (ID)

This is the highest category of unsafe gas appliances and means it imposes an immediate risk if used. The appliance should remain switched off and untouched until it has been properly repaired by a reputable gas safe employee. Remember,  it is illegal for an unregistered person to carry out work on any domestic gas appliance. So always make sure you contact a professional. With this level of categorisation, if the appliance is not disconnected from the mains, your gas engineer will report the situation to the Gas Emergency Service Provider (ESP), which has legal powers to disconnect the gas supply and make the situation safe.

At risk (AR)

This category means that the appliance has numerous faults which need fixing. It is unsafe to continue using the appliance in its current state and your gas safe engineer will advise you to disconnect the appliance and not use it until properly repaired.

If you have any worries or questions, reach out to Gas Safe Register approved plumbers Mayne Gas Heating for more help on 01472 241211.