A Scottish whisky manufacturer has been fined £40,000 after safety breaches forced workers to run for their lives from a blazing warehouse.
The incident happened in June 2011 when two workers were on a metal walkway at the the top of a warehouse using flexible hoses to fill casks with whisky which was being pumped from steel vats.
After filling four of them, one worker felt the hose he was using relax then heard a whoosh of liquid towards the forklift truck. He turned to see a jet of whisky shooting up towards a ceiling light fitting above the truck. The whisky hit the light fitting and a flame engulfed the cage of the forklift truck.
Around the same time his colleague heard a 'pop' from the cage and then saw a flame spread across the roof from the light fitting both towards and away from them.
Both workers ran towards the stairs at the back of the warehouse, activating the fire alarm as they left, prompting the evacuation of the whole site within several minutes. One worker who witnessed the fire described the forklift truck as looking like 'a Christmas pudding once brandy is set alight'.
It was later discovered that 70 of the 110 sprinkler heads in the warehouse had been activated.
The Edrington Group, manufacturers of the renowned Famous Grouse whisky, admitted to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 by failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees.
An investigation into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the central aisle lights in the warehouse should not have been used in a flammable atmosphere and, had they been checked, they would have been identified as an ignition source risk.
HSE's investigation also revealed that the filling equipment was not suitable for use to transfer a hazardous substance like alcohol at pressure.
After sentencing, HSE Inspector David Stephen said:
"This was a major incident that could have had disastrous consequences. The two workers had to run for their lives and were extremely lucky not to have been killed or seriously injured.
More than 17,500 litres of whisky were lost during the incident. This volume of flammable liquid could have served as fuel for a significant fire, which would have caused major disruption and damage to the environment.
Had the company taken the simple steps of checking the light fittings were suitable for use in a flammable atmosphere and that the equipment used to transfer the alcohol was fit for purpose this incident could have been prevented.
Since the incident, the filling of whisky casks in this way at the premises has been made redundant with the introduction of a new tank facility in October 2011."
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