Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Introduction to Fire Safety Management
After grinding the damaged area of the lining, the
employee had to clean it down with acetone before
applying a fi breglass matting patch with resin. Acetone
is a volatile liquid that gives off highly fl ammable vapour.
The acetone was an old paint bucket which he had
found in a refuse bin. While he was applying the acetone
with a brush, the light bulb broke. Some of the liquid
had probably dripped onto it. As the acetone was in an
open bucket there was a signifi cant amount of vapour in
the tank.
The broken bulb caused a fl ash fi re as a result of
which the contractor was badly burned.
The chemical company argued that the specialist
contractor was in effect responsible in law for the injury
to their own employee as the work was outside their
own ‘undertaking’ and that the chemical company had
in fact undertaken an appropriate level of selection and
management of contractors and therefore could not be
held liable.
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Electrical
Contractor
Fire Alarm &
Detection
Contractor
Sprinkler
System
Contractor
Principal
Contractor
Figure 3.14 Development and fl ow of health and safety fi le
CDM
Coordinator
New
Owner
Client
Fire Log Book
Operations & Maintenance
Manual
This was countered by the HSE who argued that an
employer is responsible for the safety of contractors if
the contractor is engaged in work as part of the employer’s
‘undertaking’.
On appeal, the court established the precedent that,
if a company, in the course of its undertaking (which it
was found in this case), creates a risk to contractors or
members of the public, it has a duty to reduce those
risks to the lowest level reasonably practicable. In this
case, the court found that the chemical company had
failed to discharge this duty and that they, as well as the
specialist contractor, were in breach of their duty of care.
The company was fi ned a substantial sum, there was
also signifi cant and ongoing damage to its corporate
reputation from such a high profi le case.
In addition, the contractor’s employee was seriously
injured. This might have been avoided if the company
had accepted their full responsibility and looked beyond
its own staff in terms of the application of health and
safety procedures.