A catering supply firm has been fined £7,500 following a Mearns hotel gas blast which left three people seriously injured.
Instant Catering Maintenance Ltd, of Union Street, Aberdeen, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
A barmaid, customer and a worker were caught in the blast at the Drumtochty Arms in Auchenblae’s Market Square on January 7 2009, which happened as work was under way on the hotel’s gas system.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday that the company was employed by the hotel to design and install a new ground floor kitchen to contain three appliances hotplate range, four ring hob and a freestanding chargrill that would be fuelled by propane.
On the day of the incident, Danielle Ormond was working in the bar when a customer complained about the beer, which led her to go to the cellar.
As she passed through the kitchen, where ICM employee Neil Coffield was purging the gas system, she noticed a very strong smell of gas.
Moments later an explosion occurred causing serious injuries to both Ms Ormond and Mr Coffield and also to customer James Guthrie who was in the courtyard outside the kitchen door smoking a cigarette.
The court heard that ICM designed and installed a steel manifold to supply propane gas to appliances.
However, it was not fitted with an adequate facility to allow for safe purging of the system, which would have prevented gas build-up to dangerous levels.
When HSE inspectors examined the recovered appliances they found that a regulator supplied with the chargrill had not been fitted and that the regulators on the hotplate and hob were found to have been attached the wrong way round and set for natural gas rather than propane.
This work had been carried out by another ICM employee.
After sentencing, HSE principal inspector Niall Miller said: “This was an entirely avoidable, very serious incident resulting in significant injuries to three people and the demolition of a building.
“The risks of purging an LPG gas system without using the appropriate equipment are well known and it is clearly stated in industry guidance that flare stacks should be used when dealing with gases heavier than air, such as propane.
“In addition, purging a system of this type should be carried out by two people to ensure safety.”