The two-storey portable cabins structure was being used by Ashbourne Elim Pentecostal Church in Derbyshire at the time of the partial collapse in 2013. Upstairs, two volunteers – one of them partially sighted – were preparing parcels for the church’s foodbank; downstairs, more than 30 children and parents were playing.
This week the company that supplied the buildings was prosecuted.
The two cabins had been refurbished and installed by Relocatable Building Systems Ltd in September 2013. A month later, on 24th October, both cabins dropped when a bolt on the jacking leg of the lower unit sheared off. The top part of the leg came out of the wooden frame, causing the collapse.
The upper cabin came to rest on the roof of the lower one at one corner, sending a number of food items falling off the shelves in the upper building. One of the volunteers suffered a bruised arm and, although no-one else was injured, all were badly shaken.
Senior Pastor, Rev Ben Brown, whose wife and two-year-old son were in the lower room at the time of the incident, said: “It was a complete miracle that it did not fall further but came to rest where it did. Another half inch and the consequences would have been devastating. I think someone was certainly looking after us that day.”
A Health & Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the company had refurbished the buildings before their installation at the church. New inner sections of the jacking legs were installed but the original pins, used to adjust the height of the legs, could not be fitted due to the holes not being drilled to the correct size. Instead, smaller bolts, which were not designed for this purpose, were used, meaning they would fail at some time in the future.
An improvement notice was served by HSE on Relocatable Building Systems Ltd requiring the company to develop safe systems of work to ensure refurbished buildings were safe. Both cabins at the church were repaired and reinstalled.
Relocatable Building Systems Ltd, of Hilton Industrial Estate, Sutton Lane, Hilton, Derby was fined a total of £8,000 with £1,589 costs after admitting two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
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