An insulation firm has been ordered to pay more than £50,000 after a worker who was only two days into his job was engulfed in a ball of flames as he attempted to refuel petrol powered equipment.
An insulation firm has been ordered to pay more than £50,000 after a worker who was only two days into his job was engulfed in a ball of flames as he attempted to refuel petrol powered equipment.
The worker was left in a coma for three months and subsequently spent over a year in hospital.
Southwark Crown Court heard how, on 11 January 2015, Greenseal Insulation Ltd’s workers were spraying insulation into a ceiling cavity of a retail outlet.
The foam spraying equipment was installed in a van parked outside the premises.
When foam from the spray gun stopped, one of the workers entered the van to refuel the equipment.
A jerry can was fixed with straps within the compartment containing a compressor and generator, both of which were petrol powered.
As the worker opened the jerry can, petrol sprayed all over him and the compartment and immediately ignited, engulfing him in flames.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident on 11 January 2015 found that Greenseal failed to ensure that risk from dangerous substances, namely petrol, was either eliminated or reduced so far as is reasonably practicable.
The HSE said the company could have used diesel-powered spray foam equipment, or reduced the frequency of refuelling by installing a larger fuel tank.
Refilling could then have been reduced to once a day and taken place at the beginning of the day when the equipment was cool and not in operation, the HSE said.
It added that the potential for spilling petrol could have been reduced by storing it away from sources of heat and confining it to smaller containers or by using a non-spilling fuel delivery nozzle.
Greenseal Insulation Ltd of 45 Wycombe Road, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6 of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) 2002. The company has been fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,779.
HSE inspector Gabriella Dimitrov said: “This was the worker’s second day on the job. He suffered horrific injuries due to the company’s failure to adequately consider the risks from refuelling and implementing safer alternatives to the system of work requiring refuelling petrol powered equipment every two hours.”An insulation firm has been ordered to pay more than £50,000 after a worker who was only two days into his job was engulfed in a ball of flames as he attempted to refuel petrol powered equipment.An insulation firm has been ordered to pay more than £50,000 after a worker who was only two days into his job was engulfed in a ball of flames as he attempted to refuel petrol powered equipment.
The worker was left in a coma for three months and subsequently spent over a year in hospital.
Southwark Crown Court heard how, on 11 January 2015, Greenseal Insulation Ltd’s workers were spraying insulation into a ceiling cavity of a retail outlet.
The foam spraying equipment was installed in a van parked outside the premises.
When foam from the spray gun stopped, one of the workers entered the van to refuel the equipment.
A jerry can was fixed with straps within the compartment containing a compressor and generator, both of which were petrol powered.
As the worker opened the jerry can, petrol sprayed all over him and the compartment and immediately ignited, engulfing him in flames.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident on 11 January 2015 found that Greenseal failed to ensure that risk from dangerous substances, namely petrol, was either eliminated or reduced so far as is reasonably practicable.
The HSE said the company could have used diesel-powered spray foam equipment, or reduced the frequency of refuelling by installing a larger fuel tank.
Refilling could then have been reduced to once a day and taken place at the beginning of the day when the equipment was cool and not in operation, the HSE said.
It added that the potential for spilling petrol could have been reduced by storing it away from sources of heat and confining it to smaller containers or by using a non-spilling fuel delivery nozzle.
Greenseal Insulation Ltd of 45 Wycombe Road, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6 of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) 2002. The company has been fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,779.
HSE inspector Gabriella Dimitrov said: “This was the worker’s second day on the job. He suffered horrific injuries due to the company’s failure to adequately consider the risks from refuelling and implementing safer alternatives to the system of work requiring refuelling petrol powered equipment every two hours.”
