Carefree Camping – Be carefree, Be Safe and Be Smart
- 12th April 2015
- admin
We’ve been enjoying the sunshine this week. It’s been great to see people packing their camping equipment and getting out into the countryside. There’s nothing quite like sleeping underneath a starry sky and getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
But we want you to be safe, as well as carefree. Being away from your usual routine and home comforts can lead to some unwelcome holiday incidents. Once you get outdoors, you can perhaps cope with nasty insects, particularly Scottish midgies, whose itchy bites will eventually disappear, but there are other dangers, some of which can be fatal and which you can inadvertently bring into your tent.
We were concerned about a report in this week’s news where a family brought a portable barbeque into their tent, while camping in the Dumfries & Galloway region of Scotland.
Portable barbeques emit carbon monoxide and should never be brought indoors or into a tent.
Even though this portable barbeque was extinguished – it was still giving out fumes. The family, of two adults and two children, suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and were eventually taken to hospital. According to reports, they were asleep and were only woken up by their dog being sick. Firefighters attended the scene in the early hours of the morning.
If you’re not aware of the dangers, taking a portable barbeque into a tent can be an easy mistake to make. Many people don’t know that portable barbeques emit carbon monoxide, but they are designed to be used outdoors, and therefore, if used correctly, the carbon monoxide is not dangerous.
The danger comes when they are brought indoors, and this includes tents.
As mentioned above, even if a barbeque is extinguished – fumes can still be present.
Carbon monoxide is called the silent killer because you don’t know it is there. You can’t see it, tasteit or smell it. And only 2% of carbon monoxide can kill in between two and three minutes.
We’re always trying to raise awareness about carbon monoxide. We want you to stay safe.
Don’t ever bring a portable barbeque indoors, even into a tent. Don’t mistakenly think there is some level of ventilation there because you are outdoors.
Your holiday items for your rucksack might well include some insect repellent to keep nasty bugs at bay, but consider packing a carbon monoxide alarm as well and test it, make sure it is working before you leave. This is a good safety precaution, particularly for those of you who holiday in caravans/portable homes with inbuilt gas cooking and heating facilities, as faulty or unmaintained appliances can also emit carbon monoxide.
Please enjoy the sunshine and your holidays.