Workers ‘Lucky to Escape’ as Unsafe Hot Works Spark Roof Blaze

A contractor has been fined after workers had to flee a fire that engulfed the roof of a 14-storey apartment building under construction in Surrey.

The four subcontractors were working under the control of C Watkins Plumbing Limited, installing an air source heat pump on the roof of the Old Telephone Exchange development in Staines-upon-Thames, when the incident happened on 26 July 2024.

Sparks from welding work ignited uncovered rigid foam insulation that had been laid across the roof. The self-sustaining fire developed quickly, spreading across the whole of the roof space before burning itself out when it ran out of fuel.

The men escaped through a single opening in the floor and down a ladder to Level 14. There was no other way off the roof, no means of raising the alarm, and no fire extinguishers.

Unsafe Hot Works

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to plan, manage and monitor the hot works on the roof. Despite the company having policies requiring them, there was no risk assessment or method statement in place, and a permit to work was not issued for the welding.

HSE’s guidance, HSG168 – Fire Safety in Construction, states that fire safety measures must be considered throughout all stages of design and procurement, and implemented effectively during construction. It says risk assessments must identify high-risk activities where fires can spread quickly, and situations where evacuation plans are complex, and that all risk assessments and control measures must be reviewed throughout the construction phase to make sure they remain suitable and sufficient.

Contractor Fined

C Watkins Plumbing Limited, of Watkins House, Leigh Road, Haine Industrial Park, Ramsgate, Kent, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 15(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.

The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £8,270 in costs at Staines Magistrates’ Court on 29 October 2026.

Lucky Escape

HSE Inspector Stephanie Hickford-Smith said: “Watkins failed to follow its own procedures for hot works. It did not assess the risks and so had no control measures in place.

“The four men working on the roof were lucky to escape. Had the fire started closer to their escape route, or had they not acted as quickly as they did, the outcome could have been devastatingly different.”

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