Rules for operating gas-using equipment
Most residential buildings have at least one piece of gas-using equipment installed - be it a gas stove, gas boiler or water heater.
In order for gas-using equipment to serve for a long time and safely, the gas consumer (user) must comply with the requirements of the manufacturers of this equipment specified in the operating manuals. One of the most important requirements is timely maintenance of gas-using equipment by qualified personnel. Failure to carry it out can lead to fires, explosions, accidents and human casualties.
Rules for using gas at home (hereinafter referred to as the Rules). it is stipulated that the owner (tenant), when gasifying with natural gas, must conclude not one, as before, but several contracts: a gas supply contract, a contract for the maintenance and repair of gas equipment and (or) inlet and internal gas pipelines, a maintenance contract gas pipelines-inlets (if necessary). In the case of gasification with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) - an LPG purchase and sale agreement and an agreement for the maintenance of an individual cylinder installation and gas-using equipment, and in the case of gasification of LPG from a tank installation, owned by him by right of ownership, an agreement for the maintenance of a tank installation, gas equipment and gas pipelines. It is worth noting that the contract for maintenance and repair of gas equipment and (or) inlet and internal gas pipelines is concluded with a gas supply or other service organization that has the right to perform these types of work. Carrying out maintenance is the responsibility of service organizations, and the responsibility for ensuring its implementation lies with the owner (tenant) of the property and this is not an innovation, but a requirement of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus and safety regulations. In addition to carrying out timely maintenance, do not forget about the operation of smoke and ventilation ducts, which is especially important in the autumn-winter period. The need to periodically check smoke and ventilation ducts is provided for by the Rules, as well as the requirements of the operating manuals for gas equipment.
At the same time, the responsibility for the operation, periodic inspection and cleaning of smoke and ventilation ducts in a single-apartment (blocked) residential building equipped with gas equipment with organized removal of combustion products (boilers, columns) is assigned to the owner of the residential building, while periodically checking the technical condition of smoke and ventilation ducts carried out by specialized organizations. In single-apartment, blocked-off residential buildings, it is allowed to carry out work on repeated (periodic) inspection of smoke and ventilation ducts by owners of residential buildings who have undergone special training and only in which gas equipment with sealed combustion chambers and individual coaxial outlets of combustion products is used.
For failure to comply with the frequency of checking and cleaning smoke and ventilation ducts, and maintenance of gas inlets. gas-using equipment, internal gas pipelines or refusal to carry them out, Article 21.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus provides for liability in the form of a fine in the amount of up to ten basic units, for an individual entrepreneur - up to twenty-five basic units, and for a legal entity up to fifty basic units.
Remember, compliance with the Rules for using gas at home will be the key to the safety of you and your loved ones. Don't be indifferent, take care of yourself and your family!
