Gas fitter jailed for accidental death

[Rockingit]

I realise that the plumbers forum will be full of this, and justifiably so, but from a skilled trade to another, this is a hard and cold lesson for us all:
if it's not done properly, it can kill.

BBC News - Gas fitter Andrew Hartley jailed over Zoe Anderson's death

 

[mickys86]

Scary stuff. Mistakes are easy to come by. As Alastair moody would say.... Constant vigilance!!! how sad is it that I'm quoting Harry potter :-( haha

 

[GLENNSPARK]

a very sad event for all concerned.....the reminders are there though for all to see/read.....it would seem that maybe Mr Hartley was on an end of day rush to get this boiler working?....so we dont know what pressures he was under from an impatient client do we....but even so....its almost unforgivable......this is what i say about those that dont inspect and test their work, issue fake certs (if at all)... and are clearly incompetent to carry out the work.....

 

[Megavolt]

Scary stuff. Mistakes are easy to come by. As Alastair moody would say.... Constant vigilance!!! how sad is it that I'm quoting Harry potter :-( haha

Sounds more like a bodge then a mistake says flue was not connect or not connected properly

 

[Rockingit]

If you read through all of the news reports, one of the mid-trial ones has him saying that he hadn't fitted a set of screws - one would presume for a collar of sorts - and couldn't say why not as he would have done normally.

 

[mickys86]

Sounds more like a bodge then a mistake says flue was not connect or not connected properly

Haven't had a chance to read it yet. Flat out all day

 

[flyingsausage]

What a waste of a young womans life.
A family destroyed so a man can get away from the job 10 minutes early.
This was not an apprentice but a skilled mature man who knew the risk of not connecting the flue up properly.

 

[Guest111]

this happens more than you think,my old chap was a top plumber and taught me a lot,i,ve lost count of the number of botched plumbing jobs (gas) that i,ve seen one local bloke asked me to look at his fire as it kept going out and would only relight after the door to living room was left open,did a smoke test on flue and it was blocked, checked on roof and found roofer had removed "redundant " chimney pot and capped flue with a concrete slab! another was a well known local plumber/gas fitter who was removing a gas heater at a friends house,I watched him cut the gas pipe to cap it then realise he had no solder,so got him some out of my van,when he finished and packed his gear away I asked about a drop test which he hadnt done,he then said he had not done one before starting so if there was a leak he had no idea if it was there already or he had caused it.Then people wonder why I get wound up when they say "you have to be qualified to work on gas"from what I,ve seen I,m safer than some of these so called professionals.

 

[sedgy34]

Sounds more like a bodge then a mistake says flue was not connect or not connected properly

complacent more like

 

[Darkwood]

I saw this on another programme which was a bit more indepth, even though it states 'from his usual high standards' it was more of a bodgit and scarper and some of his other work is qestionable, the report paints him in a more proffesional light due to his good defense team but in reality he was doing a very poor standard of work altogether, he deserved the full force of the law shame he'll serve half his time for destroying that family.
I would put this on the same par as a sparkie leaving exposed live wires under a bath and no rcd protection, silent unseen killer waiting for the water to leak one day because the bath sealant has corroded.

 

[Guest111]

I saw this on another programme which was a bit more indepth, even though it states 'from his usual high standards' it was more of a bodgit and scarper and some of his other work is qestionable, the report paints him in a more proffesional light due to his good defense team but in reality he was doing a very poor standard of work altogether, he deserved the full force of the law shame he'll serve half his time for destroying that family.
I would put this on the same par as a sparkie leaving exposed live wires under a bath and no rcd protection, silent unseen killer waiting for the water to leak one day because the bath sealant has corroded.

Exactly I think some of them think they can bodge what they want because they have a gas safe ticket,yes i,ve fitted gas cookers for mates and i,m always extremely carefull more so as I don,t have a gas safe ticket,however I am not doing it for a fee and also under the gas act you dont have to be gas safe regd, just a competent person,which I am as I was shown how to do it and had it drummed into me constantly what can happen if you get it wrong,

 

[GLENNSPARK]

this happens more than you think,my old chap was a top plumber and taught me a lot,i,ve lost count of the number of botched plumbing jobs (gas) that i,ve seen one local bloke asked me to look at his fire as it kept going out and would only relight after the door to living room was left open,did a smoke test on flue and it was blocked, checked on roof and found roofer had removed "redundant " chimney pot and capped flue with a concrete slab! another was a well known local plumber/gas fitter who was removing a gas heater at a friends house,I watched him cut the gas pipe to cap it then realise he had no solder,so got him some out of my van,when he finished and packed his gear away I asked about a drop test which he hadnt done,he then said he had not done one before starting so if there was a leak he had no idea if it was there already or he had caused it.Then people wonder why I get wound up when they say "you have to be qualified to work on gas"from what I,ve seen I,m safer than some of these so called professionals.

yeah well whoever installed that fire....whether new or a like for like replacement should have conducted a spillage test first to ensure there was enough pull....

 

[GLENNSPARK]

and for leaking joints a smatch or smoke pellet should find it....

 

[Guest111]

yeah well whoever installed that fire....whether new or a like for like replacement should have conducted a spillage test first to ensure there was enough pull....

my point exactly and he was a so called profesional.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

I saw this on another programme which was a bit more indepth, even though it states 'from his usual high standards' it was more of a bodgit and scarper and some of his other work is qestionable, the report paints him in a more proffesional light due to his good defense team but in reality he was doing a very poor standard of work altogether, he deserved the full force of the law shame he'll serve half his time for destroying that family.
I would put this on the same par as a sparkie leaving exposed live wires under a bath and no rcd protection, silent unseen killer waiting for the water to leak one day because the bath sealant has corroded.

thats zone 0 Dark....that means 0 responsibility...lol....

 

[Guest111]

and for leaking joints a smatch or smoke pellet should find it....

yep that was the way my old chap did it,ran a lighter along the pipe,as it has to be between 5 and 15 % to explode,me I have a gas leak detector(electronic) and smoke pellets for flues,plus a manometer for initial checks.

 

[trev]

I have no sympathy for this guy, he didn't do his job properly and someone died. It's only right and proper that he goes to jail, pity it's not longer in my opinion.
I'm looking forward to the day when we don't see cowboy sparks on TV but in the dock for sentencing.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

yep that was the way my old chap did it,ran a lighter along the pipe,as it has to be between 5 and 15 % to explode,me I have a gas leak detector(electronic) and smoke pellets for flues,plus a manometer for initial checks.

well a drop test is standard phil......

 

[Guest111]

well a drop test is standard phil......

thats what I told that plumber who didnt do one.

 

[DaveyD]

Its a sad case indeed for all families.