It is an employer's duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. For all employers, the duty of ensuring health, safety and welfare will often fall to those individuals in a managerial role, and this has become particularly significant in the recent arrest of certain individuals within the emergency services.
Three fire-officers have recently been arrested in connection with a fire at a food packing plant in Warwickshire in November 2007. The fire killed four fire-fighters, who were inside the packing plant trying to find trapped employees. Whilst the four fire-fighters were inside the building, the roof collapsed, burying them under the debris. The initial search for the four men was delayed by more than 24 hours due to the poor structural integrity of the building. It also transpired that there was no sprinkler system installed at the plant. In January 2008, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued an Improvement Notice to Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
The three fire-officers have not yet been charged, however they have been summoned for police questioning on suspicion of common law manslaughter and offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA). The HSE has stated: "As a result of our work on this investigation we have formed the opinion, based on the evidence we have seen, that the current arrangements employed by the fire and rescue authority do not comply with the statutory duties to provide its fire-fighters with all the information they should have to assist them in making the appropriate decisions when attending a fire."
It is notable that the HSE are considering prosecuting individual managers within the emergency services as well as the service itself, particularly where these managers were dealing with an emergency situation. The HSE maintain that the standard of care to those protected by the HSWA has to remain consistent, even in the event of an emergency, and that all necessary information is provided to those that need it in order for them carry out their function to a high safety standard in any set of circumstances.
We will continue to monitor this case with interest.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 08/03/2010.
