THE fire service is receiving more calls about potentially deadly carbon monoxide in Northern Ireland, a senior officer warned.
Group commander Victor Spence said people were not fully aware of the dangers of the odourless and invisible gas.
An inquest into the death of William Stockdale (60) from carbon monoxide poisoning in Newcastle, Co Down, in April last year heard he had no alarms fitted and an engineer had advised him not to use the oil boiler in his house in the days before his death.
He recently suffered a heart attack and coronary disease contributed to his death, a pathologist said.
Mr Stockdale had earlier that month been admitted to Daisy Hill Hospital and inflammatory markers were picked up in his blood, his family said, but he was eager to go home and was discharged.
He was taken ill in the living room of his Castlewellan Road home and was unable to speak properly. While a paramedic was treating him he collapsed and could not be revived.
The medical technician, Paul Kennedy, was later also taken ill and Mr Stockdale's family told the inquest in Downpatrick there was a "sooty" smell in the house.
Coroner Paddy McGurgan quizzed the fire service about the dangers posed by the toxic gas, which depletes the oxygen available to the organs.
Mr Spence said: "We are attending more on a regular basis now. We would recommend people fit carbon monoxide detectors."
At present alarms are obligatory in new houses but not existing ones.
Mr Spence added: "I would like to see that change, yes, to make it compulsory. People are not fully aware of the dangers."
