Energy Australia Yallourn Pty Ltd has been sentenced to a fine of $170,000 for a November 2021 fire at their brown coal fuelled thermal power station that put employees at risk. The incident highlighted and demonstrated a breach of s.21 of the OHS Act for Energy Australia’s failure to control the risk of employees being seriously injured or killed by fires that could erupt at its facilities.
Employees at the site are often required to perform ‘Hot Works’, that is, processes involving welding, arc or flame cutting, grinding, exposure to hot surfaces in flammable surroundings, or any other process capable of producing sparks or fire.
Due to the danger of fires erupting (heightened by the presence of coal and coal dust in large amounts), when undertaking tasks involving hot work, the employer is required to issue a specific permit, known as ‘Hot Works Permit’ (permit).
In compliance with the applicable Australian Standards (as well as Energy Australia’s own safety protocols), the conditions of the permit require that a ‘Fire Watch’ be nominated amongst the employees present, to observe the areas where the Hot Works were carried out, to watch over any fire that could have occurred.
However, the conditions of the permit did not require that the Fire Watch maintain their position during breaks taken by the other employees, or at the end of the day. The established site practice was that the Fire Watch would leave the area with other employees. Furthermore, the conditions did not require that thermal imagining cameras be used to check for hot spots before employees left the area for a break or at the end of the day’s work.
On the day of the fire, Hot Works involving oxy cutting, welding and angle grinding commenced at the workplace, specifically in the area known as ‘fuel distribution house’. A permit was issued, and a Fire Watch nominated.
Staff commenced their break at 12.10 pm. The Fire Watch hosed down the area and performed a visual inspection, and as he could not smell anything burning, he formed the view that it was safe for him to leave the fuel distribution house and follow all other employees on their break.
Within approximately 10 minutes, a fire alarm was triggered at the fuel distribution house. Emergency responders stationed at the workplace intervened shortly thereafter. Fire Rescue Victoria was called and the fire suppression deluge system activated, with the fire being controlled within approximately two hours. The fire caused damage to a conveyor and its surrounding chutes, as well as to the roof above the area. No injuries were reported.
In sentencing Energy Australia, the Court acknowledged the seriousness of the offence, the gravity of the risk the employees and the surrounding community was exposed to (particularly since the accepted practice was that the Fire Watch could leave the Hot Works area), as well as the minuscule impact that the purchase of an appropriate thermal imaging camera would have had upon the offender’s finances.
Read more: WorkSafe Victoria | Power station fined 170000 over hot-works fire