EnergyAustralia Yallourn fined $170,000 over hot works fire

The Latrobe Valley County Court sentenced the company after it pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to provide and maintain a working environment that was safe and without risks to health.

The court heard maintenance crews were repairing several rusted transfer chutes in a fuel distribution house in November 2021. The work involved oxy cutting, welding and angle grinding. Before taking their lunch break, workers hosed down the area, checked it visually and confirmed they could not smell anything burning.

An alarm sounded minutes later, alerting the power station’s emergency response crews to a fire. Deluge suppression systems were activated and firefighters attended, taking more than an hour to bring the blaze under control. The fire damaged a conveyor, nearby chutes and the roof.

WorkSafe’s investigation identified that a worker had been allocated fire watch duties. However, the established practice did not require monitoring to continue during breaks or after work finished for the day.

The court found the company could reasonably practicably have maintained a system of work requiring the area to be checked with a thermal imaging camera after wetting it down, before every break and at the end of each day.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said the incident could have been much worse. "The fire danger at this workplace was plainly obvious, particularly given the presence of highly flammable coal and coal dust in the area where these works were being performed," Mr Jenkin said.

"While the offender had a variety of protocols in place for monitoring hot works, it is clear that they could and should have taken further steps to control this risk to workers and the surrounding community."

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