Jessica Lunsford Blog

In a recent judgement passed by Lewes Crown Court, Martin Winter, owner of Festival Fireworks UK Ltd and his son Nathan were sentenced to seven and five years jail respectively for causing the death of two fire fighters due to an explosion in their factory.

The owners of Festival Fireworks UK Ltd, now Alpha Fireworks Ltd., possessed an unlicensed metal container filled with fireworks, which exploded in December 2006, killing fireman Geoff Wicker and support officer Brian Wembridge instantly, while injuring 20 others. Investigations revealed that a fire had broken out in the factory, which became widespread due to the presence of fireworks. The metal container was used for storing fireworks before exporting them to foreign countries.

Firemen and police officers who had come to put out the fire decided to evacuate after seeing its intensity, but Wembridge and Wicker remained on site filming the entire explosion. The prosecution stated that the video footage showed the doors of the container were burst open by the force of the explosion before the camera screen went blank.

The defence however, stated that the firemen were experienced individuals and should have known when to leave the place, and therefore their death was not the fault of the owners. However, Judge Mr Justice Cooke calling the owners of the fireworks factory very negligent, stating that the owners were aware of the dangers of such possession and yet went on to keep the fireworks inside unlicensed metal containers.

Additionally, however, the judge added that fire fighters should go through adequate training to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

The owners of the factory denied the charges levied against them but were sentenced to jail and were asked to pay £30,000 as fine for violating health and safety rules.

Health and Safety training can be provided by reputable companies, such as Workplace Law; their range of accredited NEBOSH courses can assist companies in training staff to be aware of the proper health and safety procedures for all kinds of workplace situations. The National General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH General) is a qualification designed to help those with health and safety responsibilities to carry out their duties at work more effectively and to protect the organisations for which they work.