A demolition firm has been fined for safety failings after an employee
suffered serious burns when a gas pipe ignited in his face.
The employee, 37, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was carrying out demolition work at a warehouse in Burton-on-Trent when he used an angle grinder to cut into a metal gas pipe that ignited in his face. He received serious burns to his face and forearms.
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted his employers, Birstall Demolition and Plant Services Ltd. of Birstall, West Yorkshire, after an investigation revealed that the incident could have been prevented if his employers had undertaken basic checks to ensure the pipe was safe.
Birstall Demolition and Plant Services Ltd. of Gelderd Road, Birstall, West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,256.