Council fined after putting tenant at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning

Chesterfield Borough Council has been fined after carbon monoxide fed back into one of its properties, putting the tenant at risk of poisoning.

A contractor carrying out roof work on a house in Stand Road, Newbold, on behalf of the council advised them the chimney stack was leaning and in danger of collapsing so the council arranged for it to be removed and capped.

However, the stack contained the flue for a gas fire and gas-fired back boiler and the removal and capping of the chimney stack meant there was no direct route for carbon monoxide and combustion products from the fire and boiler to be safely vented to open air.

Instead the dangerous gas fed back into the house via the fire into the lounge and attic and outside through the eaves.

This was only discovered around six weeks later, on 8 October 2011, when the council was carrying out the annual gas safety check on the property.

An investigation into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive found the council was aware the property contained working gas appliances as they were listed on two separate databases, but the council failed to check them.

Chesterfield Borough Council, of Rose Hill, Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to maintain its property in such a way that the tenant was not exposed to the risks associated with carbon monoxide.

Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court fined the council £18,000 and ordered it to pay costs of £7,534.

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