Govt. knew of faulty stat that killed Rhianna but did nothing

[Doc Spock]

What a ridiculous statement.

What on earth has this to do with govt.
These systems have worked perfectly well for decades if used sensibly.

I suspect the imm. heater was on 24/7... It should have been controlled either manually, on/off, or by a timeswitch.

The noise of the cylinder boiling must have been very apparent not to mention the clattering and banging of the pipes.

Just read about similar couple who are still seeking compo after 5 years.

Why don't people take responsibility for their actions and not expect the Govt. to take the blame.

Its is like expecting the govt. to ban rope because some people hang themselves.

[squarebear]

I quite agree. It seems that it's the latest trend to blame the government for ever tragedy going.

I knew a guy who got knocked over by a car. The government know cars are dangerous so why didn't they do anything?

[Doc Spock]

BTW.

These new"improved" stats are a pain in the @rse.

They have a habit of cutting out and overriding the temp control. This means no hot water, call out to plumber, �40 cost.

A godsend to plumbers.

Anyone who is worried should have a timeswitch installed
1 hour twice per day then the thing cannot boil to excess.

Unless the clock fails, having said that the new improved stat could fail as well. Made in China I expect.

[redcrx]

Perhaps it would be better just to stop social housing. That way everyone can provide their own accomodation and take the responsibility for the safety.

The family mustve known there was a fault.

And what happens now, are the family going to try and sue the government? What price do you put on a young childs life, any ideas anyone.

It was a very sad, tragic accident. The life shouldnt have been lost but how is the government any more responsible than the family who lived there?

[Doc Spock]

It was an appalling accident. I am deeply sorry.

The clues must have been there.

Even if it was the first the stat failed it would have taken some time for boiling point to be reached.

Must have made a loud noise as it boiled away.

It basically is a 40 gallon kettle.

[jno]

I don't see how Gordon Brown can remain in office after this tragic accident.

[Doc Spock]

jno. what the h3ll has it got to with Gordon Brown.

[wiggal]

The hot water taps in our house run for 30 seconds and then are so hot you cant put your hands under them.

Im now wondering if its something we should do or if it is to do with the house or what?
(Im not very good at this sort of thing!)

Any ideas anyone?!

But I do think that these days everyone have someone to blame for everything, no matter what!

[squarebear]

I assume jno is jesting Doc

[sandbach99]

There had been a previous identical incident, except i don't think anyone was hurt, as a result of the investigation into the previous incident the government were warned that the thermostats could fail allowing the plastic tanks to melt.


Instead of passing this message on to Health and Safety, Plumbers, social housing groups etc they did nothing. That is why they are responsible.

The family had only moved in that day and already had run water off when the hot water had been heard to be making noises.

[Goodsoulette]

Right guys, I live just round the corner from her grandparents and I know her dad but only through a friend. Why did the immersion heater have to be on 24/7? They had no idea anything was up at all. I have a combi boiler but if I had an Immerssion tank I would have no idea if it was meeting the British Safety STandard. The first they heard was a huge bang and then her dad went running up the stairs and had his arms scalded as he pulled her out of the cot. The immersion tank was in the loft so how could they hear that downstairs, especially as they live on one of the busiest roads out of Taunton and next to the hospital with lots of emergency vehicles going past. I know for a fact that all they want is her back and you are talking about them like they are scum and they aren't. In general the council are pretty good here, tragic accidents happen but sometimes on here attitudes towards parents who lose a kid in the worst circumstances suck.

I believe social housing is absolutely essential to help the poorer end of society. One day Red you could need it or housing association help.

[jno]

quite right squarebear, I should have added a smiley :-P

[chompu]

Quite right Goodsoulett. The other case was in Cornwall 4 years ago when a 30 year old woman died in identical fashion.
The goverment department decided not to publicise this because they did not want to be seen as scaremongering. More like trying to save money. This was the first night in the house for this young couple who from what I have seen have acted with the utmost dignity after what must have been an immensley traumatic incident in their young lives. I have heard no suggestion of the want of compensation from them only the wish to warn others.This little baby suffered a horrific death and survived for three weeks before she died. If she had survived to the following day, doctors were going to amputate her hands and feet.Can you imagine how terrible this must have been for the parents. This death could have been prevented with the proper action four years ago so shut up with your ill founded criticism and try and find a little sympathy.

[Goodsoulette]

Thanks, Chompu. I was really cross after reading this thread last night. If anyone had to endure seeing their babies skin peeling from their body, you would have a million questions and want to know how the hell this happened and who the hell was responsible. No one should ever have to endure this ever again. I would also have thought without social housing, those who couldnt afford to rent or buy a decent property would be in the hands of shady landlords or unable to update their heating systems and this would happen more frequently.

[fletcher.5]

The government should shoulder the blame, I phoned up our local council to complain about our toilet. It had not been flushed for 3 days, & i am still waiting for someone to sort it out!

[Mumof2]

''The government should shoulder the blame, I phoned up our local council to complain about our toilet. It had not been flushed for 3 days, & i am still waiting for someone to sort it out!''


Until someone arrives to deal with it you can easily flush your toilet with a bucket of water
The council have priorities and may deem this as low

[123everton]

I don't blame the parents at all for this, if you don't know anything about plumbing how can you predict a problem. I know a bit about plumbing and an exploding immersion tank is something I'd never heard of. It is rented accomodation (corporation too) so they have some right to expect the house to be safe.
I think Doc you've actually diagnosed the safest, cheapest option and in doing so formulated the grounds of their complaint (if they launch one) the fitting of a timer to cut it out would be cheap and effective if inspected as part of it's maintainence schedule. Health and safety should have done that after the first case.

[sandbach99]

I may be wrong but I understood it was the cold water tank in the loft space that melted as it was made from plastic, and that the faulty thermostat had somehow managed to send boiling hot water into this tank.

[Doc Spock]

I am sorry (goody) if anyone upset.

I admit I do not know the full story.

Whilst the header tank was in the loft I suspect the hot water cylinder was in the bathroom cupboard.

When the stat failed the water would be superheated and rise up through the expansion pipe into the header tank ( quite normal)

It may be the parents had limited experience of domestic household systems.