Mears Ltd – a Gloucester-based building maintenance and refurbishment company – has been fined after causing safety issues with a gas heater in an elderly social housing tenant’s property.
Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court heard that, in 2012, the company renovated 67 properties at a site in Gloucester for a social housing landlord.
However, in August 2013, two engineers from Gas Safe inspected gas appliances in the property at the centre of the case.
They found that a warm air unit had been turned into a health and safety risk as a direct result of the refurbishment work carried out the year before.
A later Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation discovered that the ventilation system needed for the heating unit had been cladded over, the flue had been taken away and the property’s roof had been fitted over the top, meaning that fumes went into the loft space rather than outside.
While the elderly tenant had not had any blood tests taken before the issue was rectified, she had experienced several health issues during 2013 and there was no evidence to dismiss the likelihood of her having been unknowingly exposed to significant levels of carbon monoxide.
Mears Ltd was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,587 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
HSE inspector Caroline Bird, who was involved with the case, said: “The risks from carbon monoxide poisoning are well known.
“It is clearly unacceptable to carry out any refurbishment work on a property that directly affects the safety of a gas appliance without first taking the necessary steps to ensure the appliance can be continued to be used safely.
“In this case, they did not just make one error in removing the entirety of the combustion ventilation, they then went on to remove the flue terminal when replacing the roof, leaving the live flue terminal discharging dangerous products of combustion into the loft.
“As principal contractors for this refurbishment project, Mears Ltd should have ensured the implications of any work were properly considered and managed.
“Mears Ltd’s failings put the lives of the tenant and roofers working on the site at risk.”