Peter Tongue and Margaret Powell’s Boiler

Posted on 30 Jun 2009

It looks like the case of Peter Tongue, a South Wales gas fitter who allegedly carried out a dangerous repair on the boiler of Margaret Powell, is coming to a head. The BBC has the latest on the case here.

Reports so far indicate Tongue was working on a warm-air system he wasn't registered or qualified to repair, which highlights one aspect of choosing a gas fitter we can't stress enough: make sure they're qualified to work on the job at hand.

If a gas fitter is on the Gas Safe Register it's safe to say they've been through some fairly comprehensive training, but that's no guarantee the gas engineer is qualified to work on your system and/or appliance. Fitters have separate accreditations for classes of work such as gas fires, gas ovens, boilers, warm air systems, LPG, etc.

But was Mr. Tongue qualified for the job? Were the deaths of Mrs. Powell and Mrs. Morgan his fault? We'd encourage everyone to wait for the court's judgement on that. But if you're hiring someone to undertake gas work at your own home, please make sure they're qualified to work on the appliances you have installed.