Stolen extinguisher costs haulier 1610
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• Hazchem specialist Walsh & Dearden Haulage of Darwen had a fire extinguisher stolen from one of its vehicles — and has ended up paying £610 in fines and costs.
The company pleaded guilty before Congleton magistrates to failing to carry a fire extinguisher on a vehicle carrying a dangerous substance.
Prosecuting for the Health & Safety Executive, Malcolm Law ton said that the vehicle concerned was carrying Asterite, a flammable substance containing a methyl methacrylite mixture. It had been stopped in a routine hazchem check on 13 June 1991, and when the fire extinguisher box on the side of the vehicle was opened the fire extinguisher was missing.
For the company, John Backhouse said that the extinguisher had been stolen. Walsh & Dearden has been carrying dangerous substances for 20 years without any previous incident. It had never had an extinguisher stolen, although another one had been taken since. At the time of the incident drivers were instructed to check the fire extinguishers each week. The extinguisher on the vehicle concerned had been present when checked on 9 June.