The term “fire triangle” is used to describe the three elements a fire needs to ignite: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent (usually oxygen). Fires occur when these three elements are present and combined in the right mixture.
Colin Ireland drove from Townsville and met the writer in Cannonvale on 3 September 2010. Colin was seeking a second opinion as to the prospects of succeeding with a claim for damages for personal injuries suffered by him on the occasion of his 5.2m half cabin Haines Hunter vessel catching fire and burning on 10 April 2006.
The incident was investigated by Queensland Harbours and Marine Safety Officer Peter Kirkby at the time.
As a result of the incident where the vessel caught fire, Colin Ireland suffered neck injury and chronic post traumatic stress as a result of being blown into the water. He lost income and had considerable difficulty carrying out his work.
His Solicitors had progressed his claim through pre-Court procedures and a compulsory conference at which an offer was made on his behalf to resolve his claim for $120,000.00. The offer was not accepted. For the matter to progress further, a claim had to be prosecuted through the Courts.
Colin was seeking a second opinion as Lawyers who he had engaged after receiving a written assurance “we are dedicated to helping ordinary Queenslanders gain extraordinary results in personal injuries matters” had advised him that they would no longer act on his behalf on a speculative basis because of concerns with the issue of liability.
The background to the incident where the vessel caught fire was that Colin had taken the vessel to Marine Mechanics in Townsville in August and September 2004 after noticing problems with a 150hp Mercury engine. At the time he was advised that there was insufficient fuel getting to the motor and that was causing damage to a cylinder piston.
Subsequently it was recommended that an electric fuel pump be installed to rectify the problem of fuel starvation.
The Marine Mechanics removed the hand pump that was used to prime the outboard motor on the boat prior to starting the outboard, and replaced the same with an electric fuel pump that was located in the battery compartment above the battery on the starboard side of the vessel.
Not knowing anything about boats, the writer consulted the in-house boating specialist John Formosa who is at sea on any weekend when the weather is fine and asked his opinion. John was familiar with boats with inboard motors set down in the bilge developing fuel leaks and explosions occurring when the engine was started. John recommended that the writer seek the advice of local marine experts.
On attending a local marine expert, advice was given that they would not recommend to customers to install electric fuel pumps into vessels for the purpose of ensuring that adequate fuel was supplied to the engine. If inadequate fuel was being supplied to the engine, they would attempt to ascertain the cause of the lack of fuel being supplied to the engine. There are increased and unnecessary dangers associated with fuel vapour introduced into a vessel when an electric fuel pump is fitted internal to the vessel.
The matter eventually proceeded to trial after further medical examinations, disclosure of material concerning income and other losses and the obtaining of expert reports on 31 March 2014. The trial proceeded over 8 separate days with last submissions being made on 1 September 2014.
At the trial, there were competing views as to the likely cause of the explosion that resulted in the fire. Roger Kahler from The Intersafe Group expressed the view that fuel had escaped from the outlet side of the fuel pump after the fuel pump had been activated and during a period when Colin Ireland had walked away from the vessel to his car and had come back and turned the ignition key further to start the motor on the boat. His view was that a spark from the battery had ignited fuel vapour.
Peter Burge who was the Marine Engineer called on behalf of the Defendant was of the view that during the journey where the boat was towed from Townsville to Oyster Point at Cardwell, the battery may have moved from where it was located and struck a fuel filter resulting in a leak of fuel at the fuel filter.
The marine mechanics who fitted the electric fuel pump into Colin Ireland’s boat admitted in the pleadings that they were obliged under an implied term of their contract with Colin Ireland to act with reasonable skill and care and diligence in the performance of their services and that they owed Colin Ireland a duty of care to act with reasonable skill care and diligence in the performance of their services.
The Trial Judge accepted the evidence of Wayne Riddle from Sugar City Marine that he would not install an electric fuel pump in a marine pleasure craft because of the danger of combination of the spark and vapour associated with such an installation. The Trial Judge accepted the evidence of Roy Pietzner that he would not fit an electric fuel pump inside a marine pleasure craft for safety reasons and, further, he would not use any clamps that were not marine grade and were likely to rust.
Mr. Peter Kirkby’s evidence was that his role with Queensland Harbours and Marine was to inspect vessels at sea. He had inspected thousands of vessels with outboard motors and had never seen a vessel where an electric fuel pump had been installed internal to the vessel.
As a result of his persistence, Colin Ireland was successful in establishing that the marine mechanics who recommended the installation of the electric fuel pump internal to the boat above the battery had breached the implied term and duty of care. The Trial Judge was critical of the Defendant’s failure to provide Colin Ireland with any warnings concerning the risks associated with the installation of the non-marine grade electric pump and non-marine grade clamps used to secure the fuel lines leading to and from the pump.
The Trial Judge was of the view that, in the circumstances the Defendant should have recommended to Colin Ireland to have regular inspections of the fuel pump, clamps and fuel lines and battery connections because of the heightened risk associated with the installation of the fuel pump in its proximity to the battery.
The damages were assessed at $703,721.90.
The Defendant consented to an Order that the Defendant pay Colin Ireland’s costs on an indemnity basis.
Our firm has been successful in two matters on behalf of Colin Ireland:-
Ireland v B & M Outboard Repairs [2015] QSC 084 (09/S235) North J 08/04/2015
About the Author
Gene Paterson has over 40 years experience in personal injuries litigation and is generally regarded as one of the leading Plaintiff personal injuries lawyers in Queensland. For any Personal Injury enquiry contact Gene on gpaterson@macamiet.com.au or 0417 758 668.
