Warning about Dangerous Equipment at Curry Houses
The Birmingham City Council is keeping a close eye on tandoor restaurants in the city, after a number of reported injuries at these places. The accidents occurred mainly due to poorly maintained ovens. The tandoori ovens, also called tandoors, have led to a number of accidents in the city and hence the council has started investigating takeaway places and restaurants that have tandoor ovens in the premise to understand the cause for these accidents. The Environmental Health department at the City Council has investigated 27 places across the city that have tandoor ovens on site.
The officers questioned the management to understand the reasons that led to the accidents. The basic installation and maintenance of the ovens were questioned. The 2 main ovens that caused the accidents were taken away by the council for further investigation, and both were found to be defective and poorly maintained.
At the Chandni Chowks Restaurants and Sweets in Handsworth, it was discovered that the tandoor was installed by a chef rather than an engineer. To crown the negligence, the oven was never maintained, and so it exploded when an employee attempted to light it, resulting in severe burns on his hands, face and eyes. The Environmental Health department at the council fined the restaurant owner £3,500 when they pleaded guilty and an additional amount of £2,500 towards costs.
The second accident occurred as the oven was poorly installed and was never maintained. The engineer who installed the oven was not certified to handle catering equipment. The checks by the council further revealed that the ignition of most ovens was not functional. Because of this, the workers used burning serviettes to light the tandoors, an extremely unsafe practice. The flame quality was not optimum, leading to poor combustion, which in turn, increased the levels of carbon monoxide in the environment- a severe health hazard. Ventilation in the kitchen area was also poor, and in some cases, even the construction of the tandoors appeared to be half-baked.
Companies need to be sure that they are giving the correct instructions with effective policies around health and safety decisions. Fire Risk Assessments will benefit organisations in enabling them to understand their responsibilities for fire safety, and put in place measures to control the risks of fire as required under legislation.