A pensioner died of carbon-monoxide poisoning in his home after a chimney sweep failed to remove a bird’s nest, which was blocking a chimney flue.
Phillip Jones was contacted to sweep a chimney at retired miner Derwyn Rees’ home in Llangunwd, Maesteg, South Wales. Mr Rees, 73, was having problems keeping the fire alight.
Jones carried out the work on 5 September 2008 and encountered a blockage in the chimney while sweeping. He failed to check if his brush had cleared the chimney pot, which would have indicated the blockage had been cleared.
He also didn’t carry out a proper smoke test after completing the job. He should have used smoke pellets to measure how much smoke was able to escape up the chimney, but instead, he chose to burn newspaper.
The following day Mr Rees’ neighbours noticed his curtains were still drawn and went to check on him. He was found dead in his bed.
Investigations by the HSE and a fuel specialist found a large bird’s nest inside the chimney, which had prevented the carbon monoxide from escaping.
The HSE issued a Prohibition Notice to Jones ordering him to stop undertaking chimney sweeps until he could prove he was competent to do the work.
An inquest held in October 2010, revealed Mr Rees died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
HSE inspector Stephen Jones said: “Chimney sweeping is a vitally important job. Sadly, Mr Rees paid for substandard work with his life.
“Sweeps must ensure work is done thoroughly and householders are given full information about proper ventilation of their homes to ensure similar tragedies do not happen in the future.”
Phillip Jones appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on 11 February and pleaded guilty to breaching s3(2) of the HSWA 1974. He was fined £5000 and ordered to pay £2500 in costs.
In mitigation, Jones said he was self-employed and he had quit the trade. He expressed his regret for Mr Rees’ death and said he had entered an early guilty plea. He had no previous safety convictions.
After the hearing, president of the National Association of Chimney Sweeps (NACS) Martin Glynn said: “It is always best practice to conduct smoke evacuation checks on chimneys and flues after chimney sweeping to ensure that they are left in a safe working order.
“This tragic case highlights the necessity of using a trained and competent chimney sweep who works to a professional standard as stipulated in the national code of practice. Unfortunately, the chimney sweep in this incident was not registered, or approved.”
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