A judge has told a roofer that he came “within a whisker” of losing his liberty after causing a fire in a hotel which put the lives of 100 guests and staff at risk. Where did he go wrong?
Repairs
In November 2013 Roy Cross (C), trading as Roofcraft, began roof repairs at the Mount Murray Hotel and Country Club, Isle of Man. The work involved the replacement of lead sheets in the roof valleys with fibreglass.
C brought two employees on site and began the process of stripping the lead and laying fibreglass resin on to the plywood below. But their work was interrupted by rain and despite covering the area the rainwater spoilt the fibreglass and soaked the plywood. This needed to be dried before work could progress and C decided that the quickest way to achieve this would be to use a gas-fired blow torch.
The fire
When the blow torch was applied to the wood it caught fire almost immediately. Flames spread rapidly to the bituminous roofing felt and timber roof structure. An attempt was made to reach the fire extinguisher which had been left ready on the scaffold tower. But by the time the employee had retrieved it the fire was out of control.
What caused the fire?
The resins used in the fibreglass work were highly flammable. Evidence presented in court showed it has a flashpoint of just 31oC.
Under scrutiny
C contended that he had done all he could to minimise the risk of fire and was not to blame. He pleaded not guilty to the charges made against him. However, the judge found him guilty of putting his employees and others at risk of harm and failing to alert the hotel that he was working on the roof with a blow torch. These actions had put others at risk, especially the guests who were sleeping in the rooms below. He was ordered to serve 240 hours of community service and pay costs of £2,400.
What should have happened?
C was an experienced roofer but he didn’t use safe systems of work or follow the hotel’s rules. These required him to tell a manager before he began working on the roof and carrying out hot work.
Tip 1. Many roofing processes involve the use of flammable materials and/or hot works. If you’re carrying out such work, or having it undertaken by a contractor, insist that a hot work permit is completed with checks carried out before the job starts and after completion (see The next step ).
Tip 2. An A-rated portable fire extinguisher, e.g. water, should be immediately available during hot works. In this case it was not kept close enough to the work area.
Tip 3. Although in this case the alarm went off quickly, this was due to automatic detection. Before allowing hot works on the outside of a building where workers have no access to alarm call points, agree how they will raise an alarm to warn staff inside.
