Installer given jail sentence after health and safety audit
A gas installer from Norwich has been given an eight-month jail sentence. It is a suspended sentence going on time already served. He is also going to have to conduct 250 hours of community service that will be unpaid. He was given this sentence for endangering a mother and daughter at their home. He was asked to work on gas appliances, but the work was not conducted properly. The task was to install a new boiler and the pipe work that goes along with the gas boiler. The work was contracted in 2010. Two days after the work was completed the homeowner turned on the electric kettle in her kitchen. The home exploded, leaving her and her daughter to suffer from extreme burns.
The incident could have left both of them dead. The HSE was called in for health and safety audits of the work and any other work he may have conducted. It was found that a joint at the emergency control valve was not fitted properly, so gas was leaking in to the home. The gas then leaked throughout the home and kitchen. As soon as she turned on the kettle, the explosion occurred. Gas fitting is serious work and requires proper health and safety training along with proper gas fitting training. The worker did not have the knowledge to do the work properly. He put lives at risk and will now serve jail time and pay a fine of over £100,000 for his shoddy work.
