Baby's death prompts Rother safety warning

A Rother spokesman said: "Following the tragic death in Somerset of a baby who died from being scalded by water as a result of a faulty immersion heater thermostat, Rother District Council would urge tenants, private landlords and homeowners to watch out for telltale warning signs with their hot water system to help prevent any further tragedies.

"A very rare but potentially serious scalding risk can arise from domestic hot water systems which include a fixed all-electric or part-electric immersion heater in conjunction with a plastic cold water storage cistern or 'tank' located in the roof space.

"A faulty immersion thermostat could cause the cold water storage tank in the loft to become heated. This may subsequently result in a large volume of near boiling water from the tank to pour through bedroom ceilings onto occupants sleeping below.

"Guidance issued by Health and Safety Executive has warned that particular consideration should be given to hot water systems over 10 years old and systems where homeowners and landlords may have other reasons to suspect the adequacy of the initial installation or any subsequent work.

"An overheating immersion cylinder will normally show obvious warning signs including:-

*Excessively hot water coming out of the hot water taps;

*Excessive noise or 'bubbling' from the hot water cylinder;

*Hot water coming out of certain cold water taps (some storage cisterns also feed cold water taps in the bathroom);

*Steam/moisture in the roof space.

"In such circumstances the resident should switch off the immersion heater system. Tenants should alert their landlord and anyone else should seek advice from a competent person such as a qualified plumber."

Rother cabinet member Cllr Brian Kentfield, said: "Residents with systems more than ten years old should be aware of how to spot whether their thermostat is faulty and who to contact to get it fixed as quickly as possible.

"I hope that by bringing this to the attention of our residents, any further tragedies of this nature can be avoided."