Health and Safety consultants are not only available to help you with your policies in the office or on site.  You can also ask for assistance if you will be working, or have employees working at temporary work premises, such as market stalls of food vans. Preparing food involves many dangers, and a lot of training is required to make sure that your workers are operating safely at all times. Other jobs that need to be carried out are the safety checks of the equipment and risk assessments.

At an annual food festival in Manchester over the weekend, the dangers of working on market stalls were highlighted when some gas cylinders exploded. Three men were injured, one of which was a 38 year old man who suffered burns to his hands as well as his legs and face. He was taken to hospital along with two other workers who also suffered burns to their legs and arms.

Men Transferred to Burns Unit

The explosion happened at the Chilli Coco Stall which was located on Albert Square which is in the heart of Manchester City Centre.  Although none of the injuries were described as life threatening, it is believed that two of the three men have now been taken to the special burns unit of Wythenshawe Hospital.

After the explosion a complete evacuation of Albert Square was conducted by the police force.  It is thought about 200 people had to be taken away from the area for fears of further explosions. The market stall was completely engulfed in flames and it took the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Services to come and get the flames under control.

Gas Cylinder Explosion Cause Panic in the Streets

The scene was one of panic and fear, with many people fleeing the scene in hast as they were not sure of what was happening.  Due to the panic many people fell and were hurt in falls as they ran across the road. The fire fighters told the press that they had to isolate three propane cylinders to help prevent the situation from getting a lot more intense.

The Health and Safety Executive have been informed of the incident and will be investigating to see if the accident could have been prevented. The police and fire fighters are working hard to try and discover the cause of the explosion. Witnesses described hearing the sound if gas followed by a huge fireball, and another witness said that she heard three explosions and saw one man writhing in agony on the floor.

Prevention is Better Than a Cure

If you ever work on a market stall or mobile stand it is important to consider the health and safety implications.  If you would like to prevent accidents like this from occurring why not call the Health and Safety Consultants to discover your legal duties as an employer or business owner.

There are many health and safety services which could prevent terrible accidents like this from occurring. There is intensive training available to managers and employees, fire risk assessments and more. Call 0800 1488 677 to find out more.

About David Cant

A chartered (fellow) safety and risk management practitioner with 20+ years of experience. David provides a healthy dose of how-to articles, advice and guidance to make compliance easier for construction professionals, Architects and the built environment. Get social with David on Twitter and Linkedin.