Most Ulster homes use heater in baby horror

Local & National

Thermostat fault led to tot's death: inquest

Friday, January 11, 2008

By Matthew McCreary

The water heating system which caused the death of a 10-month-old baby in England is installed in the majority of Northern Ireland's homes, the Housing Executive has said.

An inquest into the death of Rhianna Hardie this week was told that millions of homes across the UK are thought to be using an open vent system, a fault with which has been blamed for causing boiling water to cascade over the tot as she slept at her parents' council house in Taunton, Somerset, in November 2006.

The inquest heard how a thermostat failed on the system and led to water heating and backing up into the plastic cold water tank in the attic. This then spilt water onto Rhianna, who died three weeks later after suffering 95% burns.

The jury at the inquest yesterday ruled she would not have died had the Government informed her family's landlords of a similar tragedy four years earlier.

Coroner Michael Rose, sitting in Taunton, went on to urge anyone with a boiler with an outmoded thermostat to check their heating system for a potentially fatal fault.

"If this incident gets the publicity that it appears to be receiving, virtually every householder in the UK should look at their thermostat and if it doesn't comply with current British standards, replace it as a matter of urgency," he said.

Around 14% of the UK's 24.7m homes are believed to use the system.

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive said that it had been following the inquest into Rhianna's death.

"As has been stated at the inquest and in subsequent media reports, many homes across the United Kingdom have similar water heating systems to that involved in the case," said a spokesman.

"The majority of homes in Northern Ireland, private or social rented, will have this system fitted.

"In 2004, legislation required changes to thermostats fitted to immersion heaters. All immersion heaters fitted by the Housing Executive since that date have included the necessary changes."

Sinn Fein housing spokesman Fra McCann said he had lodged a priority written question to the Minister for Social Development, Margaret Ritchie, asking what safety measures are taken by authorities to ensure such accidents could be avoided.

"There is an onus on Minister Ritchie to provide the best standards in housing safety and I await her answer," he said.

Despite the particular danger highlighted by the case, one Belfast-based plumber said that the open vent system was standard in most homes.

"The chances of that happening are millions to one really," said Sam McWatters from Alexandra Boiler Services, of the circumstances which led to Rhianna's death.

However, Mr McWatters said he believed that the coverage of the case was in danger of blowing the problem out of proportion.

"I've never heard of it before, plastic tanks have been on the go for 30 or 40 years now and you'd think the way they are talking about it that it's just come onto the market," he said.

"Most tanks now are plastic, there are very few people putting in galvanised tanks, I haven't seen one of those going in for years."

Clanmil Housing Association, which is responsible for almost 2,000 homes across Northern Ireland, said it did not use the open vent system in its properties. "We have no properties with that system in place," said a Clanmil spokesman.