Health And Safety Errors To Blame For Sonae Factory Fire
The catastrophic fire that burned on for over a week at Sonae’s wood recycling factory in Kirkby on Merseyside once begun, then spread out of control due to staff bypassing safety features; causing a power surge.
Kirkby became covered in black smoke giving even further concern for the safety of residents in the area. The plant owned by Sonae UK Ltd, is already subjected to scrutiny from concerned residents with regard to air pollution and the safety of employees following a series of health and safety catastrophies which have already claimed the lives 3 workers in the last nine months alone.
Merseyside’s major local morning paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, reported on the 9th June incident originally and now gave some detail on the report of incident at the Sonae plant by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS).
The Liverpool Echo news item says that fire-fighters were called to the factory just after 8pm on 9th June.
It goes on:
‘They found one of three bunkers containing thousands of tonnes of woodchip on fire.
They had a conveyor belt turned on to move the burning material under their jets, but at 12am it jammed as the wet woodchip solidified. Sonae staff then bypassed safety features on the system to generate more power.’
The news item then quotes the author of the report, Chief Fire Officer Dan Stephens, as saying:
"The resultant power surge caused violent sparking and vibration which disturbed the substantial quantities of wood chip that covered the conveyor system at high level and lead to a rapid fire development which quickly involved all three bunkers."
The news article then goes on:
‘The report does not state whose idea it was to bypass the safety features.
By 3.50am, a call had gone out for the number of fire engines to be increased from six to eight and a group manager was dispatched to take charge. Four fire-fighters were injured in the incident, with two suffering muscle injuries after lifting objects, and two more falling into a pit full of water.
By 8.30 am the next morning, fire-fighters, environmental health and structural engineers met and decided to let the fire burn itself out as it was unsafe to continue trying to put it out from the roof which had been badly damaged. Left on its own, the fire burned for 8 days, causing complaints from neighbouring estates which were engulfed in foul-smelling black smoke.
A Merseyside Fire and Rescue spokesman, said: "During the fire at Sonae, it was the company that was responsible for the operation of their plant. During the incident, the conveyor system stopped working and the company took the decision to increase the power to clear it and help us with our fire fighting operations."
Nigel Graham, chief operating officer at Sonae Industria (UK) said: "We are awaiting the results of an independent forensic fire investigation which is looking closely at how this event escalated into a major incident. This has looked at all the decisions and actions taken at the time, both by the fire service and ourselves. The HSE is also currently investigating this incident and, until that is complete; we believe it is too premature to draw conclusions. We were unaware of this meeting and the contents of the subsequent report as we have not been party to any consultation with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service."
The fire was the largest incident attended by MFRS to date this year, but it is not the first or only serious accident to happen on the site.
In December 2010, contract workers Thomas Elmer, 27, and James Bibby, 25, both from Rossendale, Lancashire, were killed at Sonae after being dragged into machinery.
And, in August, demolition worker Dennis Kay was killed while working on a cherry picker to dismantle the building after the fire. Health and safety investigations are still ongoing, although last month police said no crime had been committed in relation to the death of 62-year-old Mr Kay.'
See also Liverpool Daily Post article: Sonae factory like ‘an oven’ during eight-day blaze says Chief Fire Officer
Source: Liverpool Daily Post
