Failure to comply with fire safety legislation has led to a fine of more than £10,000 for a chemical manufacturing company in Tameside.

According to Tameside Radio, Atom Scientific Ltd pleaded guilty to seven breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and was convicted on January 23rd.

Officers from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority inspected the company's two-storey premises on the Arrow Trading Estate in Audenshaw in April 2012.

They found large quantities of flammable, hazardous and toxic chemicals being stored on the ground floor, some of which has the potential to explode.

Chemicals were also being stored along the escape route from the building, which could have had serious implications had a blaze broken out.

In addition, fire doors between the warehouse and the corridors were found to be faulty and the main fire exit door was both locked from the inside and blocked.

As a result, anyone wishing to escape the premises would have had to exit through the main warehouse, which was the area most likely to be ablaze.

In doing so they would have had to travel around 40 metres through the building, by which time it would have filled with smoke, posing a serious danger to life.

Furthermore, the building's fire alarm was not working, so staff in the offices and laboratories on the first floor would receive no warning of an incident downstairs.

Lawyer Warren Spencer, who was prosecuting for the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority, said: "The fire service was concerned about the safety of people on the first floor.

"If a fire broke out in the warehouse smoke, flames and heat would trap people upstairs and their only way out would be through the fire."

He added: "The company had clearly not given any thought to a fire occurring in the warehouse. It was aware the fire alarm had not been operative since January 2011 but did nothing to rectify it."

Atom Scientific Ltd was fined £10,500 and was ordered to pay costs of £3,353.20, as well as a £15 victim surcharge.

Posted by Monica Keats
 

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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued revised guidance on portable appliance testing in an attempt to dispel the myth that every portable electrical appliance in the workplace needs to be tested once a year.

The HSE cautions that misleading advice and advertising, often by companies that offer the testing, is contributing to low-risk businesses such as offices, shops and hotels paying unnecessarily for ‘over-the-top maintenance regimes’.

Whilst regular checking of electrical appliances is part of an effective maintenance regime, the law simply requires employers to ensure that equipment is maintained in order to prevent danger. It does not demand that every item be tested or stipulate how often testing needs to be carried out.

HSE Chair Judith Hackitt said, “We know that low-risk companies are being misled over what the law requires when it comes to maintaining portable electrical appliances, and many are paying for testing that is not needed.

“Businesses are responsible for protecting their employees, but they shouldn’t be wasting their money on unnecessary checks that have no real benefit.”

The HSE guidance, ‘Maintaining portable electric equipment in low-risk environments’, can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg236.htm

Failure to meet fire safety regulations despite a warning from local enforcement officers has led to a fine of more than £10,000 for the owners of a care home in South Yorkshire.

Park Care Ltd, which owns the Park Grange Nursing Home in the village of Kendray, pleaded guilty to three separate breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

The company had failed to provide a suitable fire risk assessment, and had also neglected to put in place adequate fire emergency procedures and fix defective fire doors.

"These breaches were so serious that had there been a fire at the home there was a real danger that residents would have been seriously injured or worse," said Terry Guthrie from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.

He also issued a warning to other care homes that "swift action" would be taken by the authorities if fire safety regulations are not adhered to.

Courtesy of the FIA