A Bradford building company and its director have been fined after botched extension work exposed a homeowner and her two children to the risk of gas leaks, fire, explosion and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Adam’s Building Construction Ltd was hired by the homeowner to build an extension at the rear of her property in Bradford, with construction beginning in January 2024.
However, the extension was built over existing gas service pipework without it being relocated.
The flue serving the property’s gas boiler was also not repositioned, leaving the family exposed to potentially serious risks.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) later found that Adam’s Building Construction Ltd had been warned several times by local authority Building Control Inspectors during the work that the gas pipework and boiler flue needed to be properly relocated.
On May 22, 2024, a Building Control Inspector from Bradford Council visited the property and discovered that the boiler flue was terminating inside the extension.
Northern Gas Networks was contacted and found the gas installation to be immediately dangerous, with the boiler still operating and its flue discharging into the extension.
The property’s gas supply was subsequently cut off, leaving the residents without gas for several weeks.
It cost the family around £4,000 to put the problems right.
As part of the HSE investigation, the company’s sole director, Mohammed Adam Azhar, was unable to demonstrate that Adam’s Building Construction Ltd had prepared construction phase plans for any of its building work, which was carried out exclusively for domestic clients.