Northumbria explosion details revealed by Health and Safety Executive
Last week a Northumbria gas explosion injured six people. The HSE was brought in to conduct health and safety audits to determine the cause of the incident. It was found that Mr. Bowden, the owner, was trying to remove a gas cooker from his home. He did not isolate the gas supply. This caused the issue of fire and explosion. The house will be demolished in accordance with health and safety rules since it is no longer a fitting place to live. The appliance was serviced and maintained according to the law, said the HSE in a media conference.
This situation could have been much different had the owner of the home hired a professional to remove the gas cooker. It is an incident that may lead to prosecution of the homeowner because of the injuries sustained by parties involved most especially the police and emergency staff who came to help after a fire started.
There are health and safety laws for a reason, even for homeowners. Homeowners have to maintain their gas appliances just the same as landlords do, meaning they have to get a licensed individual to check on the appliances. It also means that the homeowners have a duty of care regarding the safety of others on their property or near their property. The laws such as health and safety at work laws do not apply to this circumstance. However, it does lend itself to a good example of why health and safety trained individuals that work in gas fittings should be called for any gas appliance work or removal.
