Poor termite inspection to blame for 2014 Parkerville Fire

How an inadequate inspection of a wooden power pole lead to a WA bushfire that set a suburb ablaze!

A WA property owner has been found liable for millions of dollars in damages after a power pole on her land, which was unknowingly being attacked by termites collapsed and sparked a devasting fire. 

The Perth suburb of Parkerville was left devasted after the termite damaged power pole collapsed destroying 57 homes as well as outbuildings and vehicles in the 2014 blaze. 

The property owner along with Western Power and contractor Ventia Utility Services, formerly known as Thiess, faced a class action that involved 189 residents and property owners whose homes had been destroyed by the 2014 fire. 

The Western Australian Supreme Court were faced with the question: who was responsible for the fire?  The owner of the land the pole was located on, the power company or the contractor who carried out maintenance work on behalf of the power company. 

After much deliberation the judge ruled that the contractor (Thiess) and the property owner were liable for negligence. While the case against Western Power was dismissed.

The judge declared that Theiss had failed to adequately train and supervise its employees, who in turn failed to inspect the pole with due care and skill at its last inspection in 2013, six months before it fell sparking the fire. 

During the last inspection, the Theiss employee concluded that it was safe to work on. In a statement, he outlined his inspection:
“I dug down around the consumer pole about 200– 300 mm, I wiped the sand and dirt off the pole with my gloves. The pole looked good, I took a claw hammer and just knocked on the pole from where I dug down to about a metre. The pole sounded good to me and I also gave it a little push, it was all good. I did not notice any termite activity on the pole.”

What he had failed to recognise were clear signs of termite infestation and fungal rot causing damage that would have been present for many years prior to the last inspection. The judge declared that the pole showed significant signs of deterioration including weathering, splits, cracks and termite mudding at the time of the inspection in 2013 and condemned the last inspection as ‘hopelessly inadequate’.

The Theiss employee also confirmed to the court that he did not know what termite mudding was and that he had never encountered termites or termite damage before.

The case against Western Power was dismissed as they had engaged Theiss as a subcontractor, legally clearing them of responsibility.

The judge however also declared that the property owner had also breached her duty of care to maintain the pole by failing to inspect it. Speaking in court, she stated that her late husband had been responsible for arranging annual professional termite inspections for their property. She mistakenly believed that because the power pole was made of jarrah, it was not susceptible to termite attack.

This case has highlighted landowners’ responsibilities in maintaining power poles on their land. As one of Perth’s leading Pest Control companies Termico Pest Management want to ensure all our customers are aware of this case. Our internal processes have been updated to ensure our Pest Control Technicians are checking with property owners, especially those located in rural areas, if they are any power poles located on their land and ensuring they are aware that these should be inspected as part of their annual Timber Pest Inspections.

Carrying out termite inspections, whether on buildings or infrastructure, takes skill, experience and an appropriate amount of time to complete a thorough inspection.

So, when getting your property inspected for termites, ensure you are using a trained professional Pest Management Technician and make sure they are aware of any power poles located on your property. As property owner it is your legal obligations to maintain any privately-owned poles. 

The final total of damages to be paid to the Parkerville residents is expected to be in the tens of millions.  Protect yourself by arranging professional inspection on any power poles on your property today  & retain proof that these inspections have been carried out. 

If you are concerned about any power poles located on your property or if you have any question regarding termite inspections, please don’t hesitate to give the team at Termico Pest Management a call on 08 9443 9880.
 

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