Ellot was found unresponsive the next morning and could not be saved
A 27-year-old man who fell asleep in front of a coal fire was found unresponsive the next day. Elliot Bourne was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. His sister Jennifer Bourne is now kickstarting a push to raise awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning.
She said: “I think people are very unaware of the dangers. It’s a silent killer. It’s been quite shocking, actually, that people just don’t realise we have all these gas-emitting appliances in our homes, especially approaching the winter when we’re all turning on our boilers now, we’re all lighting fires.”
Jennifer is campaigning for everyone to have a carbon monoxide detector installed. A survey last year found that 44% of homes in the UK do not have one. Recalling the tragic events of May 2021, Jennifer said: “Elliot went to sleep in a non-ventilated room with coals simmering. That’s what emitted the carbon monoxide that, unfortunately, killed him. It was very sudden and horrific.
“That is the sort of thing no one would think would ever happen to them. I think people just don’t understand the dangers.”
Jennifer has started a petition along with Project SHOUT, urging the government to make having a carbon monoxide alarm in every home the law, similar to fire alarms. This is already the case in Scotland, but not in England and Wales.
She said: “Very sadly, Elliot fell into a loophole where if he had been found, say, for instance, in rented accommodation, or a new-build, or somewhere like a place of work – these are places that are legally bound to have a carbon monoxide detector.
“There’s just a hole in the law which meant that as a family we haven’t been able to get justice.”
Carbon monoxide detectors must be installed in new-builds – but Jennier wants it to be mandatory in all UK homes. “We want to make sure that everybody’s safe, and – in Elliot’s name – memorialise him because he was such a special, incredible young man,” she added.
The computer design engineer’s family paid an emotional tribute to him in 2021, saying he loved his car and was a sharp dresser.
A eulogy read at his funeral said: “He was caring, thoughtful and affectionate – he would hug everyone. El was also incredibly kind, and he had a good sense of humour and a real zest for life. El was extremely popular and had loads of friends.”
His death was confirmed by a coroner to be a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Jennifer said: “It was already traumatic and he was such a popular, well-loved human being, but we actually had to have Elliot’s funeral before we even found out why he died because the test took so long to come back.
“That was incredibly difficult as well. We don’t want any family to have to go through the pain that we are in at the moment. If it just triggers one person to think, you know what, I don’t have a carbon monoxide detector, I’m going to get one. I think that’s enough for us.”