Association warns of risks of illegally-filled cylinders

With the winter chill creeping in, the City of Johannesburg and various agencies have embarked on safety and awareness campaigns to prevent danger and loss of lives from uncontrolled fires.

The City often targets informal settlements with its annual winter fire safety campaigns where uncontrolled fires cause deaths and loss of property from unattended paraffin lamps, stoves, burning coal, wood braziers and illegally connected electric heaters.

With gas as one of the sources for winter warmth, the LP Gas Safety Association joined the campaign and released a statement warning the public and businesses of the risks of purchasing and using gas cylinders that are not filled correctly and used safely. They attributed this to ‘rogue’ gas dealers who could not guarantee the amount of gas filled, and do not test and maintain the cylinders. The association advised that empty cylinders should be exchanged at reputable dealers which return them to brand owners such as Afrox, Oryx, Easi Gas and Total Gas for checking, maintenance and safe filling to guard against accidents. They further advised that safe cylinders can be recognised by a wrapped seal around the valve with the logo of the company that owns them. Also, this logo should match the logo on the cylinder.

Consumers were also advised not to be tempted by rogue dealers’ attractive low gas prices and rather weigh up this benefit against the potential for huge and costly risks. The association said some of the illegally filled cylinders contained water to make them feel full and others were overfilled using incorrect equipment by untrained personnel and were hazardous when exposed to excessive heat.

For a list of all registered LP Gas installers refer to www.saqccgas.co.za or www.lpgas.co.za

Details: 012 760 3500 or 011 431 2757.