James Frizelle’s Automotive Group Pty Ltd (trading as Gold Coast Isuzu) has recently been fined $400,000 after a preventable explosion caused the death of 21-year-old apprentice Kyah McDonald and injured three of his workmates.
The company was sentenced in the Southport Magistrates Court for breaching s.32 of the Queensland Work Health and Safety Act by failing to comply with its primary health and safety duty. A conviction was recorded against the company.
In October 2022 the employer directed Kyah McDonald to use a grinder to de-rim a used metal drum for use as storage. The task was undertaken in a room which contained an environment of ignitable vapours, and a spark led to an explosion in which Mr McDonald was engulfed in flames. Mr McDonald later died of his injuries.
Two other workers in the vicinity of the explosion were also burnt and a fourth worker suffered psychological injuries.
In its judgment the court found that James Frizelle’s Automotive Group failed to –
- provide adequate training and supervision
- conduct a risk assessment of the activity
- develop and implement a safe working procedure for the task
- correctly store and label flammable and combustible liquids
- post safety signage in areas where flammable and combustible liquids and hazardous chemicals were stored
The Court found the risk of explosion from de-rimming a metal drum in an ignitable room was obvious and foreseeable, and there were clear measures available that would have minimised this risk. The Court found that these measures were not complex or burdensome, and could easily have been implemented prior to the fatal incident.
Read more: James Frizelle’s Automotive Group Pty Ltd convicted and fined $400,000 after fatal explosion | owhsp