Is your caravan safe from gas leaks?

After we took the plunge and bought our first caravan in 2023, we discovered the original owners thoughtfully had installed a smoke alarm above the bed in our caravan.

However, what was missing was a gas detector and carbon monoxide alarm, which we subsequently purchased from the local caravan store for a combined total of $132.65. Because I’m hoping to detect LGP gas inside the caravan, the gas detector is mounted 100mm above floor height and hard-wired to a 12-volt power source, while the carbon monoxide CO alarm is mounted on the roof in the kitchen area of the caravan, closest to the carbon monoxide source. 

But why go to all this trouble?

Cheap insurance

It's well known that gas leaks, often caused by faulty appliances or connections, can lead to catastrophic caravan fires. Odourless carbon monoxide leaks can also be deadly, even without sparks.

One of the easiest and cheapest measures to prevent a gas-related incident is to ensure your caravan is equipped with working Carbon Monoxide (CO) and smoke alarms, which could potentially save your life.

To add confusion for caravanners travelling interstate, CO and smoke alarm regulations can differ in each State and Territory.

Regardless of which state your caravan is registered, if you’re travelling in NSW, the Northern Territory or Victoria, by law, caravans must be fitted with a working smoke alarm.

However, suppose you plan to visit South Australia and intend to stay on-site for longer than 60 days. In that case, you’re required by law to install a long-life (10-year), non-removable, non-replaceable battery-powered or hard-wired smoke alarm.

The other states (Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania) have no mandatory CO and smoke alarm regulations, other than a recommendation from the Fire and Emergency services that one is fitted.

Planning and prevention

To shed more light on the importance of early fire and gas detection in caravans, we spoke to Tony Talbot, an avid caravanner and the Victoria State Manager at Brooks Australia.

For more than 50 years, Brooks Australia has been a leader in the development of state-of-the-art fire protection, heat and smoke alarms and stray gas detection in residential and commercial properties.

Unlike some of its competitors, these crucial safety devices are produced in Europe, allowing Brooks Australia to leverage cutting-edge technology and adhere to the strictest quality control measures. This results in products that are rigorously tested and often surpass the stringent safety regulations imposed by Australian authorities, according to Tony.

“Fire safety in a caravan is paramount,” he explains. “Planning and prevention is vitally important because, unlike your home, a caravan usually only has one exit.

“The first step of your fire plan should be to ensure you have an escape route and always keep it clear. Other considerations should include minimising the fire risk by ensuring you don’t have naked flames in or around your caravan. For instance, refrain from using candles inside a caravan.

"Also, be mindful of power consumption, and don’t overload power points. Don’t leave cooking unattended and ensure clothes are kept at least one metre from heaters and cooktops. But importantly, install a smoke alarm.”

Important features

A quality caravan smoke alarm will feature a ‘Hush Button’, which will silence the smoke alarm for approximately 10 minutes. The hush feature is typically used when an alarm has been triggered accidentally, such as in the more confined space of a caravan.

A caravan layout where the sleeping, living quarters and kitchen are all in the same room presents a unique set of challenges for a smoke alarm, especially if you accidentally burn your morning toast. The ‘Hush Button’ provides time to clear the fumes out of the caravan that triggered the alarm without the alert tone sounding. The smoke alarm will then automatically reset back to normal after approximately 10 minutes.

“Furthermore, when choosing a smoke alarm for your caravan, it’s important to ensure it is capable of withstanding the rigours of bouncing down rugged outback roads,” he says.

Early detection

Has this happened to you while caravanning?

It’s a miserable, cold, rainy day, and you’re confined to sitting inside your caravan, playing a board game or watching TV. You fire up the diesel heater to take the chill out of the air and light the gas cooktop to boil the kettle. Because it’s cold, you have all your windows and vents shut.

After an hour or so, you start feeling slightly lethargic and may even have a slight headache. These are the early symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. To make matters worse, you decide to lie down to sleep it off, all the while breathing in even more CO.

“The best way to understand where CO comes from in your caravan is to remember that anything that burns fuel creates CO,” Tony explains, “Your gas cooktop and oven are prime examples. If you are using free campsites or off-grid camps and running your fridge, hot water and diesel heater, these are all appliances that burn fuel and create CO.

“Regrettably, authorities, and most people for that matter, don’t see CO in caravans as a big issue. That’s primarily because CO poisoning often goes undetected. How often have you pulled into a caravan site and the guy next door tells you he’s feeling flu symptoms coming on, then he is fine the next day? Chances are he’s had the early symptoms of CO poisoning, and because the issue is mis-diagnosed, the CO poisoning incident goes unreported.

“Sadly, during the colder months, there are documented reports of people turning on the gas cooktop burners in an effort to stay warm and then succumbing to the effects of CO poisoning,” he says. “In July 2023, the ABC reported on a woman found dead in her campervan from a CO poisoning from a modified fridge running under her bed while she slept.”

"Unfortunately, CO is odourless, so you can’t smell it or see it. It’s a real silent killer. Our CO alarms constantly monitor air quality in parts per million (PPM). They are always measuring, and they will sound at a pre-determined amount. If there is a problem, they will also do a rate of rise response. If it is monitoring at 20 PPM and within three minutes it detects a rise to 20,000 PPM, it will go off. The CO alarm  is always monitoring.

“Our CO alarms are designed for roof mounting; they perform a calculation to determine the CO level at approximately 1.8 meters above floor height.”

Normal indoor CO concentrations hover at around 400-1000 ppm. This means that the space in your caravan is adequately ventilated and has consistent air exchange. Small, temporary increases in indoor CO are not typically a significant threat to human health.

However, these short spikes can often be resolved simply by ventilating the space by opening a roof hatch. At higher levels, from 2000 to 5000 ppm and above, CO can cause short-term symptoms that interfere with attention and cognition, as well as health effects from long-term exposure.

What are the symptoms?

At CO levels above 1000 ppm, you can see a rise in noticeable symptoms as oxygen in the air is displaced by CO molecules.

Common but mild symptoms often resulting from CO in this range include drowsiness, a feeling of stuffiness, mild confusion, and disorientation.

Proper CO ventilation, such as opening the caravan’s roof hatch, can help reduce these symptoms and other harmful indoor air pollutants. Most caravans have a warning label on the roof hatch nearest the kitchen stating that the vent should be opened when using the cooking appliances.

At CO levels around 2000-5000ppm, you can start to see more disruptive health and cognitive symptoms, like headaches, sleepiness, a tightness in the chest, an increase in heart rate, reduced attention, a lack of concentration and nausea.

Even though Brooks Australia’s CO and Smoke alarms are premium products, Tony says they are relatively inexpensive items when you consider the essential early detection function they perform, which could save your life.

“Spending $50-$100 on CO and smoke alarms is nothing to secure the $100,000 investment in your caravan and more to the point, your life."