SA: Church fined over school camp incident

AAP General News (Australia)
04-22-2009
SA: Church fined over school camp incident

ADELAIDE, April 22 AAP - The Catholic Church has been fined more than $19,000 over
a school camp incident which left a student with burns to his hands, legs and face.

In the South Australian Industrial Relations Court on Wednesday, the Catholic Diocese
of Port Pirie was fined $19,125 as the operator of the Caritas College in Port Augusta.

The diocese had pleaded guilty to one count of breaching occupational health and safety
rules over an incident on a school camp in 2004.

A year 10 student suffered burns when gas vented from a canister ignited.

The then 15-year-old boy had been helping another student assemble a camp stove when
he was engulfed in a ball of flame.

SafeWork SA prosecuted the school and a spokesman said investigators found that students
were not trained or supervised in safely assembling the camp stoves.

Industrial magistrate Richard Hardy said that while the student had largely recovered
from his injuries, he had suffered considerable psychological trauma.

SafeWork SA said while the school camp had been run successfully for 20 years, the
incident showed that safety could never be taken for granted.

"The failure to account for the fire hazards posed by the gas canisters could well
have had far more serious consequences in this case," said acting executive director Juanita
Lovatt.

AAP tjd/ht/cdh

KEYWORD: STUDENT

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