A carbon monoxide (CO) alarm is a battery-powered detector that continuously monitors the air and sounds a loud alert if CO levels rise to a dangerous concentration, giving early warning of a gas that is invisible, odourless and potentially fatal within minutes. UK prices typically run from £10 to £25, and building regulations require one in any room with a fuel-burning appliance.
A fire blanket is a sheet of fire-resistant fabric, usually fibreglass, kept folded in a quick-release wall pouch, used to smother a small fire (especially a pan fire) by cutting off its oxygen supply, or wrapped around a person whose clothing has caught alight. UK prices typically run from £8 to £20.
| Feature | Carbon Monoxide Alarm | Fire Blanket |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Continuously detects a dangerous, invisible gas and gives early warning before symptoms set in. | Actively smothers a small fire or wraps around burning clothing to stop it spreading. |
| How it's used | Passive — mounted on a wall or ceiling and left running, requires no action to work. | Active — must be physically pulled from its pouch and applied correctly in the moment. |
| Type of hazard covered | Carbon monoxide poisoning from boilers, wood burners, gas appliances or blocked flues. | Small kitchen fires, chip-pan fires or clothing fires. |
| Maintenance | Needs a battery check periodically (or is sealed with a long-life battery on some models) and replacement every 5-7 years. | No maintenance once mounted, though the pouch and fabric should be checked periodically for damage. |
| Where it belongs | Any room with a boiler, gas fire, wood burner or attached garage — a legal requirement in rented UK properties with fuel-burning appliances. | The kitchen, ideally mounted near but not directly beside the cooker for quick access without reaching over flames. |
| Failure consequence if missing | CO poisoning can be fatal and gives no warning smell or visible sign, making the alarm the only realistic early warning. | A small pan fire without a blanket nearby is more likely to be fought with water (dangerous with oil fires) or left to spread. |
| Price band | Roughly £10 to £25 per alarm. | Roughly £8 to £20 per blanket. |
A CO alarm is not optional if your home has any fuel-burning appliance — boiler, gas hob, wood burner or open fire — or an attached garage. It is the only practical way to detect a gas you cannot see or smell, and UK law already requires one in many rented properties for exactly this reason.
A fire blanket belongs in or near the kitchen as the fastest, safest response to a small pan fire, which water or a fire extinguisher can make worse if oil is involved. It is also the standard first response for someone whose clothing has caught alight — wrap, don't run.
These cover two entirely different home safety risks and both are genuinely essential rather than optional extras — a CO alarm for the invisible, odourless gas you cannot detect yourself, and a fire blanket for the moment a pan fire needs smothering fast. Every UK home with a fuel-burning appliance should have both, and neither substitutes for the other.
A portable carbon monoxide alarm with a sealed 10-year battery and digital display, giving a loud early warning of CO from boilers, stoves, heaters and generators.
A Kitemark-certified fire blanket to BS EN 1869 in a rigid wall-mountable case — the recognised standard for smothering kitchen and chip-pan fires fast.