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The Chase Web Offset Disaster.

The Chase Web Offset fire was a major industrial disaster that occurred on 6 June 1987 at the Chase Web Offset printing works in Estover, Plymouth, Devon, England. The blaze destroyed the £20 million printing complex within an hour, killing three employees and injuring several others. It was one of the worst industrial fires in Devon since the Second World War and led to renewed scrutiny of workplace fire safety standards across the region.

Background

Chase Web Offset was part of the St Ives Group, a national printing company employing more than 400 people in the South West of England. The Plymouth plant produced newspapers, magazines, and catalogues for regional and national distribution. Although the company had applied for a fire certificate, the inspection had been delayed because the building was still undergoing structural alterations.

Senior fire prevention officer Maurice Testro later confirmed that the factory’s expansion had outpaced its formal safety inspection, leaving areas of the plant non-compliant with current fire regulations.

The Fire

At around 11 a.m. on Saturday, 6 June 1987, workers heard a muffled explosion followed by flames rapidly sweeping through the factory. Strong winds reaching 50 mph fanned the blaze, spreading it through the paper reels and ink stores within minutes.

Roughly 40 employees were on duty; most escaped, but three workers were trapped and later confirmed dead:

• Angelo Katsianis (21), forklift driver, from Cattedown
• Amanda Baker (21), bindery worker, from Tamerton Foliot
• Kenneth Walley (50), factory operative, from Stoke

Over 100 firefighters and 17 fire engines responded from across Devon. Firefighter Jerry Moon was injured when burning paper bales collapsed near him. The blaze destroyed the building in less than an hour and continued to burn for four days before being fully extinguished.

Company chairman Max Harvey confirmed that the factory did not yet possess a fire certificate, though an inspection had been “imminent.”

> “It was like a furnace — the fire just took hold and ran the length of the building,” one witness told the Evening Herald.

Immediate Aftermath

Detectives interviewed all 39 employees who had been on duty that morning. Early speculation centred on sparks from welding work near paper reels. Contractors from H. J. Systems, who had been installing pipework at the time, denied any welding had taken place, though several witnesses maintained that welding lights were visible shortly before the fire started.

A temporary site was later established at Langage Industrial Estate in Plympton, where around 60 staff resumed operations.

Investigation

By July 1987, police had ruled out arson, citing the absence of any criminal evidence. The fire was deemed accidental, though the precise cause remained undetermined. The case was referred to the Plymouth coroner for a formal inquest.

The Inquest

Hearing and Evidence

The inquest into the deaths of Katsianis, Baker, and Walley opened at Plympton Magistrates’ Court in December 1987. All three had died from burns and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Engineer David Jefferies testified that he escaped by driving a van through flames and admitted smoking earlier near the area where the blaze began, though he denied performing welding work that day. Storeman Keith Compton reported seeing a “blue arc of welding light” moments before the fire, while platemaker Andrew Samphier confirmed that welding equipment had been plugged in about ten minutes before the fire started. Contractors from H. J. Systems continued to deny the use of welding equipment that morning.

Further testimony revealed that the smoke detectors had been deactivated due to repeated false alarms, and no fire drills had ever been carried out at the plant. Company solicitor David Gabbitass acknowledged that there were no formal smoking restrictions inside the building.

Fire Safety Testimony

Fire prevention officer Maurice Testro told the court that the factory would not have qualified for a fire certificate at the time of the fire due to inadequate precautions. He stated that “on the balance of probabilities, those persons would probably not have died” if proper procedures and training had been in place.

Testro dismissed the welding theory, arguing that the fire was more likely caused by a naked flame, such as a discarded match or cigarette. Home Office scientist Dr Gareth Booth supported that view.

Chairman Max Harvey invoked legal privilege and refused to answer 47 questions, including those concerning fire precautions and training practices. Evidence also revealed that a scheduled fire safety inspection had been postponed because a key staff member was on holiday, and that fire hoses were too short to reach the seat of the fire.

Verdict

Coroner David Bishop instructed the jury not to consider unlawful killing verdicts, citing insufficient evidence of negligence amounting to crime. The jury returned verdicts of accidental death, but noted that inadequate fire safety procedures and precautions had contributed to the fatalities. The official cause of the fire was recorded as undetermined, with the most likely explanation being a carelessly discarded match or cigarette. No criminal proceedings were brought against Chase Web Offset or its contractors.

Aftermath

The families of the victims publicly blamed Chase Web Offset for the deaths, accusing management of negligence and disregard for safety. The company rebuilt operations at a new site in Plympton under the St Ives Group, redeploying most employees. The disaster prompted a regional review of industrial fire certification and safety enforcement across Devon in 1988.

Legacy and Reflections

In the years that followed, the families of the victims and surviving employees continued to call for accountability and stronger fire safety laws. Trade unions and fire officers cited the Chase Web disaster as a case study in the dangers of poor safety compliance within expanding industrial premises.

Eyewitness Reflection (1997)

Ten years later, in 1997, Andy McLelland, a former Chase Web Offset employee and survivor of the fire, was interviewed by police and journalists on 6 June 1987. McLelland stated that he had been working in the same area as Angelo Katsianis shortly before the gas explosion that tore through the building. He disputed reports made during the inquest suggesting that one of the victims had gone back into the factory to rescue a colleague, writing that “Angelo was still in the office with me when the explosion hit — there was no opportunity for anyone to go back in.”

In his reflection, McLelland described scenes of confusion and terror as the blaze spread rapidly through paper and ink stores, cutting off escape routes within seconds. He also questioned the inquest’s conclusion that a stray cigarette had caused the fire, asserting that contractors had been seen welding earlier that morning, a claim denied by those involved. He wrote that, for survivors, “the hardest part was watching the company distance itself from blame, while the families of the dead were left with unanswered questions.”

See also

• List of industrial disasters in the United Kingdom
• Fire safety legislation in the United Kingdom